The Offside Rewind: Show your face

stretch, but specifically:
stand straight, point your hands to the sky (hands together to shoulder width apart, both are good, variety is good) and gently arch sideways over your hip, then after 5 to 10 seconds (or more; GENTLY, more is always better, but not if you're forcing the stretch) reverse back to straight up and then over the other hip.
Do this a few times.
Then do standing rotations, where you're just extending your arms out from your body sideways (like that michaelangelo pic), spread your legs not more than shoulders width and rotate. you can slightly bend knees too (this is good for baseball batters, if that helps you picture what i'm talking about).
Finally lie on your back and have one leg straight, then lift the other leg off the floor and gently cross it over, trying not to rotate the hip too much but to feel the stretch. reverse. (you eventually try to get the hanging leg's foot to nearly touch the floor)
how to strengthen:
situps (but just cross your arms over your stomach and go a couple inches shoulderblades off floor). (also lie flat and try to raise your feet off the floor - with feet together and with feet apart).
the "superman": lie on your stomach and try to raise your arms and legs off the floor. You can do 1 to 4 appendages at a time - it rotates the muscle building.

the key for me was learning that back is attached to hip and butt. so all this loosening of just the lower back wasn't doing it until i stretched and strengthed the whole "core" (and yes, darn it, it does exist).

one last: standing squats: try to just do a squat (no weight) while squeezing your butt and legs to protect your back. it'll help lots of core muscle strength.

good luck. i've been good for a few years now (i can play full matches) , but waking up in the middle of the night on a top loft with a locked back and hunchbacking over to get 1000 mg of ibuprofen at 3am sucked. so hopefully you're starting off better than i did.

funny really. until the Bolton game Chelsea (in four successive league games) COULDN'T score in a brothel!!!!

word has it Bob, backs can go in one, you take care my friend.

KTBFFH

I inherited a rubbish back from my Dad, and I stretch twice a day to keep it in check. Just 10 minutes twice a day can do wonders. I'm like a 5-year-old girl when it comes to needles, so acupuncture isn't going to happen, at least not on purpose. If you like or can stand needles, that's probably a good way too.

Oh, so my point was, go to an acupuncturist. Or at least have somebody jab needles into you.

Recent studies say that even fake acupuncture works better than standard treatment. (For once I am being serious and am not making this up.) They think it has something to do with either release of endorphins or blockiing pain sensors.

Two words, Bob: Acu puncture. I haven't tried it yet for my own bad back, but my girlfriend swears by it. Let me know how that works out.