As a therapist, many people assume that I’m immune to the issues that affect my clients. However, I too struggle with chronic pain in my lower back and have done on and off for the past 4 years. This firsthand experience gives me a deep empathy and insight into the struggles my clients face. It motivates me to thoroughly understand their conditions, trace their origins, and explore effective treatment options.

Personally, I manage my pain with a consistent routine that includes self-massage with rollers and balls, gentle stretching, and a strengthening yoga practice that I’ve refined over the years. Regularly engaging in this regimen has been crucial in keeping me pain-free and healthy.

I encourage everyone to take the time to explore the many options available and find what works for them. This process takes time and a commitment to one’s self. The road is bumpy with many hurdles and challenges along the way. Some days feel like a real struggle to get motivated and moving, it hurts and frustration sets in when results don’t seem to come fast enough. But with a consistent routine of exercises and stretches that feel good for your body results do come, pain slowly eases, mobility starts to improve and life feels better.

As a side note, when I talk about consistency I mean every day, that means doing something that feels good for your body every day. Also, you need to do more than a few minutes a day, with my body I find that 45 – 60min a day is what keeps my pain at bay. Time is an issue for us all in this regard and the way I approach it is to break my routine in to bite sized 15min slots. This makes it much more feasible as I can always find 3-4 15min slots during my day.