Lots of people are touting the exercise ball as a way to get some calories burned and keep yourself active while sitting around in an office or anywhere else where the sedentary sitting position is necessary.

So how does this recipe for alleviating back pain work?

Well, for starters, using an exercise ball makes it easier to alter your back position throughout the day.  Changing the back’s position once in a while will help prevent undue pressure on the spine, which often causes back pain.

Just ask your chiropractor: the lower back pain many office workers and other experience is often related to the fact that sitting still places a serious amount of pressure on the discs in your spinal column.  Some diagnostic pictures of strained discs may reveal places in the spine where nerve centers around the vertebrae are “ballooning” due to constant pressure.

So, the exercise ball is a critical tool in getting a variance of position: look for easy exercises that will work the back in various ways.

The other thing about the exercise ball is that sitting on it for a period of time will help strengthen the muscles around parts of the spine that protect that balance between bone segments and the nerve tissue attached to them.

What lots of fitness enthusiasts are doing is using the exercise ball as a cushion to “work the core”.  When we talk about the core, we’re generally referring to the key areas of the body that regulate posture and stance.  The idea behind using the exercise ball to engage these muscles is that when the body continually has to adjust, due to the instability of the exercise ball, they are actively using those core muscles, and that helps to protect the spine in the long term.

But other fitness gurus say there’s a danger in going overboard: when using the exercise ball, try to assess how it is making your lower back feel.

The problem is that sometimes, using the exercise ball excessively can also put pressure on the spine.  One way to avoid this situation is to practice a kind of “two-prong” program: try sitting on the ball during one or two or your day’s work hours, or even less at first, while taking ten-minute breaks when possible and stretching out your back to relieve the pressure from sitting.

With a comprehensive exercise ball program for your lower back, you’re likely to be able to ease the pressure, and cut down on those emergency chiro visits!  Just be attentive to how the ball is actually working your back, and adjust positions accordingly.  This simple tool can be the difference between worsening posture and pressure that can wreck your spine, and getting a more active body that can stand the test of time in the office!