Thought this was interesting. I had back surgery a while ago and was looking for additional exercises when not on a wave. Some good ones from here!

anybody have any other recommendations?

I agree, any of those exercises could easily be done incorrectly. I would go as far as saying she isn't doing them great, her shoulder and thoracic spine mobility is impacting her range of movement, and she isn't locking her should blade back and down

Often lower back pain can be linked back to tight hips, which can be alleviated easily with stretching.

As we all get older, more people than not will have bulged discs to some degree from what I understand, its just whether or not they press on the nerves. Ive found hanging from a chinup bar for 30 to 60 secs or longer, followed by the sphinx pose, helps to realign things, then a light workout to unclench the muscles. It may take a few goes at this over a period of time to resolve the issues.

One of the best exercises for the lower back directly is the reverse hyper. There are dedicated machines for it, created by louie simmons (there is a cool docco on him called westside vs. the world, used to be on netflix), but they can be done with a bench easily enough. I do them regularly as part of my warm ups.

Kettle bell swings are good too, if done properly, and of course squats and deadlifts for over all strength. The macgill big 3 are good prehab/rehab/warmups, plus bridges. Having a band around your knees in squats and bridges helps to maintain symmetry in the movement. And good technique is imperitive.

Google and youtube will explain all of the above.

Hard to lock in particular back stretches for all as each back injury can be different. For some forward bending can help, for others this will cause more pain - just depends on what the actual issue is. They look pretty extreme IMO but what ever works for you I guess?

I have suffered with Sciatica over last 15 years due to a couple of bulged discs that put pressure on nerves when I get carried away with impact exercises and when I prone surf a lot (due to compressing my spine). This is what led me to SUP and part of why I don't prone surf as much - plus SUP surfing is so much more fun IMO

The management of my sciatica is more general maintenance, keep the back muscles in good working order and flexible, avoid impact exercises and keep hamstrings well stretched.

Due to a couple of other issues and the way my back is I used to also suffer from back spasms, the sort that stop you in your tracks, have had success in feeling it early and releasing with accupuncture, the old lacrosse ball and heat on the area. Basic maintenance for this has been using the lacrosse ball on a semi regular basis on both sides (the multifidus is the muscle that has caused me grief), SUPing more, walkingand using a stand up desk at work on occasions.

Kela said..
I had a sore lower back after a weekend of gardening, went for a SUP that week and was struggling to get to my feet. After a bit of research and trying a few things, I found that using a physio roller on a little muscle on your sides just above the hip bone, but below the rib cage really helped. Releasing that muscle had me free of pain in a few days. Now after any exercise I make sure I give that a roll and also the ITB and Hammys.

Spot on Kela, thats what I found for the spasms - once you know how to release that area its a game changer and costs bugger all.