My client Rosa shares her story below about lower back pain that was at its worst every morning. If you suffer from morning lower back pain, you may recognize parts of her experience or find useful insights here.

“My lower back issues started about three years ago when I was pregnant with my first child. Back then the pain was more of a radiating type and sometimes even made one of my legs feel weak so it would give out. I think that’s when the ‘back problems’ began, and they’ve persisted in a different form ever since.

After the baby was born the worst of the radiating pain eased. I no longer felt weakness or aching in my back. I was itching to get moving and train like I used to — pregnancy pain plus rapid weight gain and swelling had completely changed my previously active, energetic lifestyle.

Lower back painful first thing in the morning

The first year with the baby was all about adjusting to a new life. That brought sleepless nights and chronic sleep loss, less one-on-one time with my partner, less time alone outdoors with the dogs, and so on. Emotionally I didn’t see these things as ‘problems’ — having a child is the greatest achievement of my life and my family means everything to me.

Gradually, though, the back pain crept back into my life and I started ‘complaining’ to various professionals. I got lots of exercise tips and advice on how to strengthen my weakened core. I still felt like I hadn’t fully recovered from pregnancy — even after 1.5 years of diligent core training I felt weak and floppy. I also convinced myself something was literally broken in my back, or stuck, and that a quick adjustment would make all the pain disappear.

I exercised and trained and the weakness stayed. I felt like a 90-year-old granny. Every day, many times a day. Often I thought my formerly active, energetic self was gone. The pain was worst in the mornings and it dragged my mood down — I desperately wanted to find something to fix it.

Back pain isn’t always a sign of damage

I’d been following Jerry’s posts on social media for a while, and one morning an Instagram post of his really hit home. He encouraged people to reach out if nothing else had helped. I immediately booked an appointment, thinking he’d be the long-time professional who’d ‘unlock’ whatever was wrong.

The first visit lasted 1.5 hours and there was no manual ‘treatment’, cracking or unlocking. Besides a thorough interview we did a few movement tests, and from those Jerry convinced me I wasn’t broken, weak or fragile — just a normal, young, functional person.

Amazingly, my lower back pain decreased by about 70% within four weeks of that first visit. How is that possible?

Because Jerry met me as a person — a busy, tired entrepreneur and stay-at-home mum. He was unhurried, empathetic and he listened. He took my history properly (and did a few movement tests). He sketched my story on a flipchart, and in that moment everything started to make sense to me too.

Back pain and recovery

More than two years of sleep problems, chronic sleep debt and poor eating after pregnancy had taken their toll. I was constantly tired and wasn’t looking after myself like I used to. It wasn’t deliberate, but the little everyday things that matter had changed or dropped away. I also felt mentally that my core and back were weak or perhaps damaged.

The back pain was especially present in the mornings and whenever I got up from the couch, after training, on walks with the dogs or doing anything — my focus was entirely on the pain. I’d also describe it as stiffness, like a wide metal beam across my back. It felt awful, like being elderly even though I was under 30.

In practice I’d fallen into a pattern of doing more and more core exercises and keeping constant ‘tension’ in my midsection — sitting, eating, standing, lifting — the muscles in my lower back never had a chance to relax. I sat rigidly upright even on a bench, not relaxed. I thought I had to keep training and bracing because I believed I was weak and that’s why I was in pain.

Relaxation for back pain

Jerry gave me home instructions for relaxing breathing exercises and encouraged me to let go of some of the constant tension. I also reintroduced long, brisk solo walks in the woods with the dogs. Spending even a short time in nature alone, in silence with my thoughts, is so important for my mind and body.

I already knew (partly from my work) how important it is to eat well, get enough sleep, manage overall load, move and see friends. My mind was slow to change, and I hadn’t realized how much basic things — rest, movement and food — were out of balance for me. That’s probably why my thoughts and emotions about the pain were so big and dominating. Most of my energy went into thinking about the pain, which didn’t help recovery.

As someone conscientious, I cut back on constant belly-bracing and core-only workouts, eased up on work stress a bit, started walking in the woods with the dogs every single day, and added one intense workout per week that I’d wanted. The ‘stiffness’ in my lower back really was stiffness. Constant tension, fatigue, a bit of stress and a big drop in exercise (compared to pre-pregnancy) had tightened my body and mind even more. Add to that the feeling of being weak and fragile, and the whole mix was ready to make things worse.

Mobility and movement for back pain

After the second visit I also got mobility exercises for the spine in all directions, which further eased the stiffness. Best of all, my attitude did a complete turnaround. I no longer feel ‘weak and floppy’ — I feel recovered from pregnancy and fit. When I feel stiffness in my back I don’t jump to negative thoughts about myself or my condition. My outlook is lighter and no longer limiting like it was two months ago!

I make sure to do the things that matter to me — move my body. Before I used to train maybe more frequently and harder. Now, given my life situation, daily brisk solo walks in the woods with the dogs plus one sweaty training session per week are exactly what my mind and body need. Lying on the couch and avoiding movement didn’t help the stiffness.

I also do breathing exercises and listen to relaxation tracks online. It’s very easy and quick, even though at first it was hard to motivate myself — I always had ‘so much to do’. For someone like me who’s busy and always doing things, learning to lie down calmly once in a while suited me perfectly 😀 Best of all, the back pain no longer greets me in the mornings when I open my eyes.

Thank you so much, Jerry, for the lower back rehab — it’s such a freeing, wonderful feeling to see such radical results in such a short time. This is a great place to keep going from.

Best, Rosa”

Thanks for reading my blog 🙂 Read Annamari’s back pain story at this link. You might also be interested in this Iltalehti article that featured an interview with me.

If you need help with back pain, book an appointment here.

Jerry
osteopath, personal trainer
ph. 040 557 3874