seekstrength

It appears to be broken on our sites. Generating embed codes for any playlist shows an error for us. To get it working on my site, I had to replace "videoseries" in the URL with "playlist" (no quotes) and then it worked. Really strange issue.

I had severe back pain in the last two years of high school. I eventually figured out how to sleep differently and move differently to avoid triggering the pain. Standing for longer than 20 minutes usually made my back ache like crazy. I found some stretches and positions that got my back muscles out of spasm. Unfortunately I had already gotten other weird muscle compensations by that point that resulted in more problems.

I had a lot of other aches and pains (wrist, knees, hips, feet, etc.) by my mid-20s that were hitting me hard pretty much all day every day.

It took A LOT of learning, stretching, strengthening, massaging, etc. but I'm in my mid-30s now and can do more than I have ever been able to do before. I've made it a career helping people in chronic pain as a trainer with a different perspective.

A couple resources that may help someone in severe back pain: Back in Control by David Hanscom, MD. The author is a spine surgeon who, after years of performing spine surgeries and seeing the real effects and real research results, realized that surgery was NOT a good answer for back pain. This is an excellent read with some very practical advice.

Also an excellent read is this article that appeared in Vox recently: vox.com/science-and-health/2017/8/4/15929484/chronic-back-pain-treatment-mainstream-vs-alternative

I would also echo the sentiments of others here. It is VERY possible to beat back pain without surgery and pills, but the level of complexity varies from individual to individual. From the last 10 years of professional experience, I've seen some people solve back pain in two weeks, and I've seen some people take more than a year.

I have a client that I still train who had unremitting back pain for nearly 13 years. She had radiating leg pain and eventually had microdiscectomy that helped a little. Even after that and after more PT and all kinds of alternative medicine, she still had debilitating back pain daily.

For her, working on her hips has been the big key that now keeps her feeling really good. She's now able to go dance classes, do long road trips, sit on a plane for vacation, etc. The process was difficult and required patience, but together we figured out what helps her. Exercises that restore muscle balance is HUGE. And shockingly this is not an approach you'll see in medical or physical therapy textbooks.

For a little more perspective, Framework is another good book by an orthopedic surgeon who generally advises against surgery. He notes that the vast majority of doctors receive a maximum of 2 weeks of musculoskeletal education. Most receive far less. Doctors who know muscular anatomy in-depth are a very small minority. It's just not something covered in standard medical education.

However bad things may seem, DO NOT GIVE UP. Focus on taking control.