Lower Back

I have had lower back problems for a few years now, nothing serious just paint in the lower portion of my back. I have had to stop doing deads for the time being because it is making it worse now that I have started playing football again. What are some good lower back excercises to help strengthen my lower back and hopefully help stop future pain. Right now I am doing hyperextensions and was looking for any advice or insights you all might have. Thanks.

There are lotsa exercises that can be used to rehab your low back, once the problem is FIXED. First, if it’s still there after several weeks rest, ya need to find out what’s wrong. As usual, start with a good chriopractor: if he can fix it or, at least, diagnose it, he’ll do so a lot faster and cheaper than an orthopedic surgeon will. If a surgeon recommends surgergy, get a second opinion from another orthopedic surgeon who doesn’t even KNOW the first one. If the verdict is still surgery, don’t waste the best years of your life, trying to find “natural” ways to avoid the surgery. Go for it. You’ll be glad you did, when you’re one of us old farts, with a back that still works right.
After the major malfunction is defucked, THEN we can talk about rehab and, later, building real strength. I had a badly broken back. (Planewrecks can be hard on yer back.) After an 11-hour operation and 9+ months in a torso cast, I started my own rehab, doing partial deadlifts with a broomstick. Several years later, I got a set of 5 stiff-leg deadlifts with triple-bodyweight. I currently hold the world record deadlift in my class, in masters powerlifting. Without the operation, I would be in bed forever.
Strength & courage,
“Coach Joe”