Why do so many adults experience back pain?

The answer is tight structures and weak support tissues.  The common cause is too much sitting (poor posture) and not nearly enough regular movement throughout the day.  The lumbar spine is designed to flex, extend, and rotate, and regular movement is needed to promote joint health and retain good range of motion.  Regular movement is also vital to retain and develop strength in support tissues.  Immobility sets a downward spiral of weakness, tightness, and even weaker posture management.  Inevitably, something must give; a straw breaks the camels back.
What should you do?  First, and most importantly, get up and begin moving.  Walk regularly.  The ten thousand step challenge is a perfect platform for joint and spinal health.  Ensure your work chair provides effective lumbar support.  Lumbar discomfort when sitting is a good sign your chair is a problem.  Stretch and self-massage daily (the link below includes recommended stretches and self-massage).  Finally, see a musculoskeletal specialist - physiotherapist or chiropractor - for a spinal assessment.  Therapy may be needed to mobilise joints and settle soft tissues.

SP essential stretches and self-massage

Super exercise: the TURKISH GET-UP

First a quick recap on what constitutes a 'super exercise': any exercise that comprehensively conditions the body, or one that targets a single critical function.  Today's super exercise, the turkish get-up ('get-up' from this point forward) comprehensively conditions postural health. 
The get-up is both the least appreciated and most questioned exercise in our program.  It is not obvious what the point of the exercise is, precisely because so many of the bodies muscles, joints, and segments are involved.  The get-up ticks (almost) every box: stabilisation of the shoulders, torso, lumbopelvic segment, and hips.  That's everything above the ankle.
Using the get-up involves two conditioning phases: learn the pattern (no external load), and grow the load (progressive load development).  The first conditioning phase is safe and effective for any healthy body regardless of age or physical competency as there is no external resistance; the hand only needs to point toward the ceiling at all times.  Healthy, mature bodies may apply external loading once the exercise have been correctly and completely learned.
The link below will take you to video coaching of the get-up.

Video of a turkish get-up

Mover warm-up

This warm-up is suitable for all mover sports, including hockey, rugby, netball, and football.  Warm-ups for training and competition must be comprehensive to fully prepare the mind and body.  
The link below will take you to the full warm-up

mover warm-up

Is a product really ethical if it's not good for us?

The shoe featured in the article below has been manufactured according to the principles of transparency, organic construction, and fair trade sourcing of the materials. I applaud the business ethics 👏

But, like so many casual shoes, they're fundamentally flawed with respect to what's healthy for feet and ankles. An inch of stiff rubber with a flat profile. Our feet need to feel and respond to the surface of the ground - muscles need stimulus and load. What would happen if you had to wear 1-2 cm's of thick rubber on your hands all day. What happens to your fine motor control; to the condition of the muscles of your arms and shoulders, and associated motor skills?

Shoes like these treat our feet like bench tops - flat and clean; no grime and constant fear of damage. This kind of immunisation is damaging, and fashion at the expense of health is not ethical.

Veja trainers

Turns out breathing is really important ...

All joking aside, breathing, like our stomachs, is more of a mystery than we realised.  Exciting to think what we may learn!

memory-fear-breathing

Poor breathing is the most common musculoskeletal deficit, and it affects all ages

We have two different breathing patterns: nose-diaphragm (ND) when we are relaxed, and mouth-chest (MC) when a high heart rate dictates that we need to move air quickly.  The ND pattern draws air deep into the lungs where gas exchange occurs, and a low (10-15 bpm) breathing rate can be expected for most healthy people at rest.  The MC pattern moves air quickly but gas exchange is far less efficient which means a much higher breathing rate is needed. 
A functionally healthy individual would be expected to display diaphragmatic breathing at rest but a surprisingly high number actually mouth-chest breath instead.  A high percentage of these also over breathe (a higher than ideal breathing rate) as a compensation.  Not surprising is the fact that this problem affects individuals of all ages; young children up.  The spread of ages provides the biggest clue as to why the ameliorated pattern arises: too much sitting.  Sitting compresses the abdomen making diaphragmatic breathing difficult (though not impossible!).
The diaphragm is a muscle and, like any other muscle, 'fitness' depends on use.  A muscle that is used weakly becomes weak.  A weak diaphragm would be expected to result in the adoption of a mouth-chest breathing strategy to compensate.
A weak diaphragm is often also associated with weak patterns of anterior core stabilisation.
The good news is that this is not a difficult problem to solve: breathe through your nose down into your stomach.  It's not necessary or advisable to do so all the time; check your breathing every now and again.  The brain will eventually catch up with what you're trying to achieve and restore the correct resting ND pattern.