Back pain is caused predominantly in the western world by sitting in chairs and a lack of lower back exercises.
It has been clinically proven that by sitting down as we do on the way to work, and all day at work that we gradually reduce the strength and effectiveness of our core muscles and particularly our back.
It also reduces our overall hip flexibility.
In Asia and eastern cultures it is much more normal for people to sit in a cross legged position or posture.
This is much better for us as it aligns the hips and spine and forces our back muscles to work harder.
The less flexibility one has in the hips, the more likely you are to begin to have back pain.
As a result it is paramount that everything is done in order to increase hip movement.
To understand why our backs hurt, it helps to investigate this area of our body in more detail.
The back is made up of layers of interwoven muscles that wrap around the 'S' shape of the spine.
The back is made up of 24 vertebrae that are joined together by discs that are filled with fluid and are designed to absorb shocks.
When we are born, these discs contain 80% water, but as we age, this reduces in water content, making our backs much less flexible than before and more susceptible to back pain.
This natural aging process combined with our chair bound lifestyles contributes to our increasing back pain epidemic.
In order to combat these effects, it is important that we undertake lower back exercises.