Lower back pain runs rampant through today’s society due mainly to our sedentary lifestyles, absence of any kind of physical fitness program, and lack of understanding in how the musculature of the body works. Your average American wakes up, sits down to eat breakfast (most likely slouching with a rounded lower back), walks less than 50 yards to their car where they sit (slouching again) for their commute to work, walk another 50 yards to their desk, sit down all day, drive home, and sit on the couch till bedtime.
This is an obvious problem we can all see by observing the physique of the average American; overweight, slumped shoulders, rounded lower back, and weak hips/glutes. Most folks in this situation either just deal with the back pain or go to a physical therapist who recommends some blend of stretching, yoga, acupuncture, or chiropractic work (and, of course, come back to see them every week).
While these options may help alleviate the pain for a short time period, and should be performed as needed, they will never fix the underlying problem. The real issue, which is weakness of the musculature that supports good posture, becomes blatantly obvious when you look at it from a practical standpoint.
If someone is overweight or, for that matter, of average weight, but lacks the muscular strength and endurance in the abs, lower back, and hip/glute complex, what will absorb the shock of walking and movement?
The joints and the discs in the back which will cause unnecessary wear and discomfort/pain over time.
What will keep the spine in a neutral position and the hips under the torso to support it?
Nothing. The lower back stays in a perpetually rounded state and the glute/hip complex is weak and stays in a constant state of anterior tilt adding to the strain on the spine.
So, how do we fix this? Stretching and yoga are both good supplementary activities and I do them quite often myself. Stretching will increase mobility to allow you to get the most out weighted exercises while maintaining good form and yoga is great for activating unused muscle groups (think bird dog pose for the glutes and lower back; actually a great movement for this subject) and increasing endurance strength. While these two activities are beneficial, nothing can beat weight training to increase strength in these areas.
Folks with lower back pain should focus on exercises that target the abs, lower back, and glute hip complex such as reverse hypers, ab wheel rollouts, planks, squats, and deadlifts. Reverse hypers and ab wheel rollouts should be performed multiple times a week with squats and deadlifts making up the heavier strength training done less often.
As always, make sure your form is correct on the squats and deadlifts or you will just engrain faulty movement patterns which will exacerbate the issue. I have worked with multiple people that have lived with back pain for years and the above exercise and movements alleviated or, more often than not, completely eliminated it in the course of a few weeks.
The power of strengthening your body cannot be understated.