I'm a BF50+ kind of pirate and have lived with lower back issues since an injury in my early 20s. The only thing that keeps things taut (thereby reducing re-injury) is core strength.

There is a "glass half full" component here that transcends the use of core strength exercise in mere avoidance of lower back pain. I ascribe the fact that I've stayed active all these decades in part to the necessity to stay strong in the "central regions".