I have had lower back pain for years.
For a long time I thought I needed to work on the lower back muscles to make things better.
I have since found out the opposite works in that I need to work abs and core work to benefit my back.
Not sure about you but when I stand up you can see I have quite a lot of posterior pelvic tilt (I look like a duck
) due to the years of cycling, being fat and doing no core work. This means my spine curves forward roughly behind where my stomach is.
All the muscles in my back are under constant strain trying to pull the spine straight again (to stop damage) which gives me back ache. I get this from standing in front of a computer, sink, desk or wherever.
Lower ab exercises (lying leg raises etc) help me as they tighten the muscles at the front that join to the pelvis area bringing the pelvis up which in turn takes the strain of the muscles in the lower back trying to pull me straight again.
When standing in 1 position for a long time I now try and make a point of tightening my abs, squeezing my glutes and holding my pelvis forward to stop the back pain (not quite thrusting
but you get the picture).
Must get back to the gym also as I found squatting helped the core strength no end.