I have had pain in the middle of my back for years. it has gotten progessivly worse over time. it feels like the middle of my back needs to be cracked. the is a sharp pain, when it does finally crack the pain is pretty bad. when i do get it to crack all the muscles in my back and stomach contract for a brief instant and causes me to exhale abrutly. I went to the doctor and had an x-ray done. they said that i had degeneration of the spine and it was nothing to worry about. they said doing ab workouts would alleviate the pain. I dont see how working my core is going to solve this problem