The main causes of back pain are lack of movement in your spine. As a writer about back pain, because I have suffered back pain myself with postural scoliosis in my spine; I will admit that it happens to us all, if we don't practice what we preach! None of us are perfect and I am no exception!

Last night I went out to watch a movie that was being held in a local outdoor park in Vancouver. I sat on the grass with my legs crossed legged watching the movie on a big screen. Thankfully the grass was dry, the movie was good and I cycled home afterwards feeling the evening had been good!

Not being the most efficient organized person and that comes from my processing disability; I admit after the fact that I should have had alternative ways to sit on the ground for sitting for 2 hours. I have to admit that I was not all that comfortable for 2 hours; I did a lot of fidgeting and by the end of the film, I was ready to stand up. I was relieved to get back on my bicycle at the end, to cycle the 5 or so kilometers to get home.

The problem is that when you are sitting watching a movie, you become so absorbed in the movie that you forget to move your spine. This movie had subtitles, so I could take my mind off the screen as the emotions were high and I would have missed something. I so absorbed in the movie that I rarely moved my back!

Had I been sitting on a chair, I could have sustained the minor movements active my spine. But when you are sitting still and nothing is moving, your body will keep reminding you to move, but I ignored its request!

Despite the cycling home last night; I still woke up with a sore back this morning. Maybe young people can bounce out of bed and still feel great, but my scoliosis reminds me that my back needs care and attention, if I don't give it what it wants!

The first thing I did was to do several "Sunrise Salutations". This is my wake-up call to the back first thing in the morning. I sit up in bed and put my feet on the floor. Then I position my hands in the prayer position. Then I lift them both up high above, while taking a deep breath really stretching as high as you can that lifts each vertebra open. Then I turn the palms outwards and stretch them out wide to the side. Then as you breathe out, allow your arms to relax and slowly come down to your side. Then return them to the prayer position. Repeat this several times if you need, as your spine will come alive in movement after a night asleep.

Your spine is like a baby, who will love this movement, just keep repeating it until the pain starts to ease a little. This is only the first part of the movement your spine needs. If you have one of those large movement balls, you can sit on it and keep the movement going in the base of the spine as a circular motion.

My ball is not blown up, so I move the spine and pelvic area in a circular action; as I position myself in the sitting position; so that the weight of my spine goes forward, then leans on the right pelvic bone, then back with the weight across the back; then across to the left pelvic bone and forward to the front position again. Rotating your pelvic bones and spine in this position will stimulate further movement in your low back area.

Now take a big deep breath and your spine should arch forwards, then breathe out and your back will relax and fall down on to your pelvic bones.

You have now woken your spine up and hopefully by now, it should be starting to feel better. The pain will not go away on just doing these movements once. Gradually as you start to move around in more purposeful activity, you will find that your back pain becomes easier and gradually the pain will go away. It is like a baby, every so often, there will be a reminder that you still have the problem; so treat it with respect and it will go away again!

For baby boomers, it is a warning that old age is setting in! We cannot expect to do things the way we use to! We can keep the pains away, by creating constant movements in our spine that will stop the 'rust' from setting in, for making our skeletal joints more possible to move!