Have you got Office Worker's Slump? Three exercises to prevent back pain

Back pain is an ailment that touches most people. According to the Government Health and Safety Executive, 80 per cent of us will suffer from it at some point in our lives. Back pain accounts for one in every six working days lost in the UK.

Modern daily life means susceptible backs are common. Many people sit in a chair for much of their working day, where they adopt a position that can be harmful to the back. Let's call this position the Office Worker's Slump. In the Office Worker's Slump, the back curves forward, which means the abdominals are not engaged, while the lower back muscles (erector spinae) are constantly shortened. The result is stress on the lumber vertebrae and subsequent intervertebral disks.

The Office Worker's Slump puts the spine under unnecessary daily stress, and throws its surrounding supportive muscles into a state of imbalance. These muscles help prevent injury to the back; harm their effectiveness, and you increase your risk of suffering back problems.

One of the more common training mistakes I see working in a gym every day is already susceptible backs being put under undue strain. Simply moving heavy equipment around can cause damage - and that's before you've made a start on those heavy weight bearing moves.

The results vary from mild to crippling back pain - but both can be easily avoided. Go about your gym work in the correct fashion and far from amplifying back issues, it can help to lower the risk of spinal injury.

The key is to work on the conditioning of your lower back before touching heavy weights. Below are three exercises that can help to strengthen the muscles responsible for rotating, extending and flexing your spine. Work them in to your training regime and you'll find your lower back offers a strong base that allows you to deal with the stresses and strains of gym - and office - life.

Medicine Ball Rotation

Use medicine ball rotations to strengthen your rotators and improve mobility through the mid-spine section.

Suggested use: Warm up by performing the exercise with just your own body weight, then select a relatively light medicine ball and slowly rotate to each side 10 times. Perform 3 sets.

Sky Diver

Incorporate the sky diver into your workout regime to strengthen your spinal extensors (these are the large longitudinal muscles along the spine).

Suggested Use: Perform 10 reps, pausing for a second at the top of the exercise. Gradually increase the amount of time you hold for.

Pelvic Tilt

The pelvic tilt is a great exercise for learning to engage and stretch your spinal extensors. It also strengths your lower abdominals, as well as creating more mobility and stability through your pelvis.

Suggested Use: Perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

The exercises outlined above should help to prevent injury. However should you already be experiencing any pain or discomfort in your lower back during exercise or in your day-today life, I strongly suggest you seek medical attention before engaging in any further activity.