I suffer from lower back pain. What exercises would help alleviate this?
Lower back pain is the number one reason for employee absenteeism, and while lower back problems can stem from injury or trauma, the majority of lower back problems are lifestyle related, or rather, physical de-conditioning. Therefore, the treatment for lower back pain is simple - start moving.
Our bodies were meant to move. Movement keeps muscles and joints supple and flexible. If we sit for long periods, or don't do some form of vigorous movement every day, muscles atrophy and joints lost their flexibility. What results are imbalances in the body - tight hamstrings, tight lower back muscles, weak abdominals, shortened hip flexor muscles - which can cause structural misalignments and further imbalances.
There's a lot of focus these days on core flexibility, and for good reason. If the lower back is sore, sometimes all you need is abdominal work to pull the lower back in line. But remember that any good work out routine should work the whole body. If you just work one body part, this can create further imbalances, so just working the lower back is usually not the best course of action. Naturally, you need to be trained in staying away from certain exercises that antagonize the lower back area, and any good trainer can teach you these.
Flexibility exercises are also extremely important for the lower back area, to lengthen those muscles shortened by inactivity, so a full body stretching routine is important (remember to warm up thoroughly before doing any stretching exercises). One exercise is called the Superman: lie on your tummy and stretch and lift up one arm and the opposite leg, hold and relax. Relax and repeat on the other side.
Remember to take regular breaks from your desk job, and stretch for 5-10 minutes. And finally, remember that lower back pain is a classic stress point, so you need to look at factors in your life that are causing distress, in particular unresolved anger. Once released, you'll find your muscles will follow.