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Anyone who has ever suffered from a major backache knows how central the back is, even in times you might think it isn’t important. Even something like squeezing a tennis ball, an action that involves a focus on the fingers, forearm and bicep will involve the latissimus dorsi and other back muscles.

The latissimus dorsi or “lats” for short, are the large muscles on one’s side – in men these produce the “triangle shape” when well defined. Try squeezing a tennis ball as an exercise – do you feel it? You will experience a tensing of these muscles on the same side of your body as the arm used to squeeze the ball. If you have back pain, you can’t miss this.

Any sport will require strong back muscles, for speed and coordination, for balance and movement and for providing a strong ‘pillar’ for all the limbs to move off of.

Following are a few easy exercises which can help you improve the strength and flexibility of these key muscles. You will see the most benefits from these exercises when they are done on a firm – not hard – surface. A hard surface will cause needless discomfort to your bony parts.

Knee to Chest

Lie on your back and clasp your hands behind one thigh. Pull slowly toward the chest, keeping the other leg flat on the ground. Vary the action by flexing the ankle – first pointing the toe, then pulling it back toward the knee – at the same time as you stretch the leg. Hold each position for 5 seconds, then switch legs and repeat. Do 10 reps.

Rotations

Do this one while lying back with your feet flat on the floor, knees together and raised. Extend your arms but keep them close to your body and keep your palms flat on the floor as well. Lift your feet just slightly off the ground and by moving your knee, rotate your torso. Move your knees a little to the left, then right. Alternate the exercise by crossing your arms over your chest, then repeat.

As you continue to practice this exercise, you will build flexibility and will be able to have a wider range of motion with this exercise. Eventually, you’ll be able to touch your knee to the floor.

Pelvic Press

Lie down on your back, knees raised and feet flat on the floor. Push the small of the back into the floor, feel the tension in the lower abdominals. Vary the action by moving your feet together and performing the exercise, then slightly apart and repeat. As you press into the ground, hold for 5 seconds, but continue to breath slowly and normally.

Pelvic Lift

Again, lie on your back with feet flat on the ground, knees raised. Cross your arms over your chest and legs and knees together. Raise your buttocks slightly off the floor and hold this position for five seconds. Lower them slowly back to the floor, count to two and repeat. Breathe slowly and normally while doing this exercise.

Dog Stretches

Starting position for this exercise is on all fours with your head raised – look forward to achieve proper posture for this exercise. As you lower your arms, arch your back and hold this position for two seconds before returning to your starting position. Extend one leg, parallel to the floor (or as close to parallel as possible). Hold this position for three seconds, then return to starting position again. This exercise can cause hip, leg or back pain in some – if it does this for you, stop this exercise immediately.

Repeat this exercise with the other leg. You can mix it up by extending your leg with toe pointed, then flex your ankle in a perpendicular direction to the leg; hold this position for two seconds, then repeat. You should do ten reps of this exercise for each leg.

If you feel any pain while doing these exercises, stop immediately. While some mild discomfort is normal, pain is not, and you should talk to your doctor if this occurs.