I have dealt with back pain for over 20 years.
It started back in high school. I played in a soccer match and everything felt good…and *snap*, my back grabbed me. I didn’t know what had happened. All I knew was, it hurt, I could barely move, and I was scared.
That moment began a lifelong journey to learn about fitness, mobility and injury prevention. I’ll deal with it When you realize that not everything is within your control.
I learned how to train better. I had a nutritious meal. I prioritized sleep and regularly kept up to the revised exercises prescribed by my doctors and physiotherapists. But I was doing “everything is right” and every 6-24 months I get hit by a serious backflare-up. Sometimes it will last for a few days. Sometimes I wrestled with it for years.
The last one was the worst.
I twisted a few months into a literal C shape. I couldn’t stand up straight. I couldn’t move the way I wanted it to. And it was more than physical pain Mental Spiral It got me.
“Are I going to get stuck like this?”
“How long will it take this time?”
“Who am I if I can’t move, teach, or teach like I used to?”
It ruined my identity in a way I wasn’t entirely aware of in the first place.
I’m a trainer. coach. A man who teaches others how to work. I’m a dad who wrests on the floor with his kids. Someone who cares for the physical labor around our homes.
Now I was working out of bed and wondering if I would feel “normal” again.
Eventually, I was out of the pain again (not everyone). And it taught me some valuable lessons.
What I learned:
✅ Play the hand you are handling.
It was discovered that there was a congenital spinal stenosis (stenosis of the spinal cord). I didn’t cause it. I can’t “fix” it. But I can make plans around that. Physical therapy and strength training are very similar! In its simplest form, it is all a version of “exposure therapy.” Emphasise your body fully and in the right way to get the response you want. Not too much, not too little.
Over time I learned the movements that are likely to cause flare-ups. And I can organize my training and build a bigger “buffer” in the area.
That’s not what I chose for myself. But that’s the best way I know how to respond.
✅ Recovery is mental as long as it is physical.
Don’t underestimate the mental and emotional sacrifices that an injury places on you or your loved one. You can do all the “right thing”, but if your brain is full of pain, fear, frustration, or shame, you feel like you’re not making progress. You may not recognize the impact that will have on you! I often I felt it Just as I treated everything great. But my loved ones could see that mental stress (not to mention physical pain) was taking on me.
I learned this phrase from my mentor, and it still resonates with me to this day. “Start where you are. Do what you can. Use what you have.” It’s much easier than saying, but going back to this mindset has helped me in some of my darkest moments.
✅ The movement is still worth fighting for.
Even when it takes several months. Even when it’s later than I wish. Even if exercise doesn’t look the same as before. It’s still worth working on.
The mental and physical benefits of exercise, in Any Form I can do it and is too strong to ignore.
✅ The same solution doesn’t work every time.
This was one of the hardest to learn. There was no “fitting all sizes” solution to my pain.
- Sometimes the fever helped. Sometimes I didn’t do that.
- Sometimes exercise makes you feel better. Sometimes it will feel bad.
- Sometimes anti-inflammatory oral steroids helped. Sometimes they didn’t.
This allowed us to approach new flare-ups, like we did in the experiment. Every day is something I take as a small test of what I can do. And this is the same approach that we have learned to take with our clients – even those who are not dealing with injuries or chronic conditions. What worked for them in the past can give us clues, but it may not be the best the current A solution for what they need.
Above all, this made me a better coach.
I understand now –Really Understand – How do people feel with chronic pain or injury?
Fear, doubt, sadness of losing some of what makes you you.
That perspective has made me more empathetic, flexible and more useful. And that’s what I was trying to tell the whole coaching staff here at Nerd Fitness.
If you are dealing with pain, set-offs, or if your body feels like it’s betraying you recently, I’ll see you.
It may take longer than you wish.
It may look different than before.
But I can still build strength, confidence and momentum.
And what if you need help understanding your body, your history, and how to do it in a way that suits your reality? I want to help.
Please take a picture of your message.
– Matt Coach
