Lower back pain is very common. Around 80% of Australians experience back pain and 10% have significant disability as a result.

People of all ages are affected by back pain, and although it generally clears up in a few days or weeks, sometimes back pain can be ongoing.

We commonly get back pain from the lumbar spine being ‘excessively extended’ or ‘excessively flexed’.

If we can train with our spine in a ‘neutral’ position, this will serve us well to avoid back pain.

Activation of the core is very important to achieve this ‘neutral’ position of the lumbar spine, either in an isolated state or in a compound movement.

A common influencing factor of back pain is over-active lumbar musculature.  Sitting causes excessive shortening of the lumbar musculature, which in turn becomes your default stabilizer of your spine when training, weather in the gym, running or going for a swim.  This excessively ‘hyper-extended’ lumbar spine leads to pain.

Work on activating you core in a ‘neutral’ lumbar spine position, and you’ll find back pain will subside and athletic performance in competition will enhance.

Postural core exercises such as the ‘pallof press’ and ‘deadbugs’, are designed to improve posture and maintain spinal alignment and it gives the body a break from bad posture, alleviating back pain.