It usually happens at the worst possible time. You’re halfway through a set of deadlifts or hoisting a suitcase into the overhead bin, and you feel it. That familiar grab in your lower back.
Before the pain even fully registers, your mind is already somewhere else. Here we go again. Another week of babying it, and another round of wondering if this is just how it’s going to be now.
If you’ve had that moment more times than you can count, keep reading. Over the years I’ve noticed something about the patients who finally get back to the things they love. Most of them had been told at some point to just accept it. What got them through was a stubborn refusal to quit on themselves, paired with finding care that pointed that persistence somewhere useful.
You’ve already been persistent
If you’re reading this, chances are you didn’t notice your back pain last week. You’ve been dealing with it for a while. You did the PT exercises. You tried the stretching routine from YouTube. Maybe you got the MRI, or the injection, or a few adjustments somewhere along the way.
And some of it helped. PT helped, until you went back to lifting. The injection bought you a few good weeks. The adjustment felt great walking out the door. Then the pain came back, sometimes in the same spot and sometimes somewhere new. Patients tell me all the time that it feels like playing whack-a-mole with their body: first the hip, then the back, now the shoulder.
So hear this: you are not someone who gave up. You’ve been showing up for your body for a long time. That counts.
The quiet thought that creeps in
Here’s what I see underneath the pain. It’s rarely only about the back. It’s the thought that sneaks in after the third or fourth setback.
Maybe this is just what getting older feels like.
Maybe I should stop running.
Maybe I’m the problem.
It’s completely understandable to have that thought. Almost every patient who sits across from me has had it at some point. But picture something different for a second. Getting out of the car without bracing yourself first. Lifting four or five days a week without losing the next three to recovery. Packing for a trip without packing a pharmacy. Picking up your kid without doing the math beforehand.
That version of you isn’t gone. In my experience, a body that keeps hurting is usually telling you something mechanical, something that can be found and worked on. It isn’t a verdict on who you are or how old you are.
What persistence looks like for a patient
Persistence in your care doesn’t mean grinding through pain or ignoring it. It looks more like this.
Persistence is coming back in after a flare-up, even when it feels like you just took two steps backward. Flare-ups happen during care. They’re information, not failure.
Persistence is doing your home exercises on the days you feel great, because feeling better and being ready for your activity aren’t the same thing.
Persistence is staying with your care after the pain quiets down, because that’s when we start building the strength and movement that keep it from coming back.
Persistence is asking one more question after the last provider told you to just stop doing the thing you love.
Persistence needs a direction
Here’s the honest part. Persistence on its own can keep you stuck. If you keep doing the same stretch that gave you two days of relief, you can be incredibly persistent and still end up in the same place six months from now.
The people I watch get their lives back pair their grit with a clear picture of what’s going on. At SPC, that starts with an assessment that looks at how your whole body works together during the activity you care about, rather than only the spot that hurts today. From there, treatment is one piece. We also rebuild how you move and how strong you are in those positions, so you can get back to the barbell, the golf course, or the trail and stay there.
You’re closer than you think
I learned this as an athlete long before I learned it as a doctor. Every comeback has a stretch where it feels like nothing is moving. I’ve watched patient after patient push through that stretch and come out the other side doing the things they were scared they’d lost for good.
The light at the end of the tunnel is real. Keep walking toward it, and make sure you have the right people walking with you.
Ready for the next step?
If you’ve been working hard on your back pain and it keeps coming back, let’s talk. Book a free, no-obligation call with our team to find out why it keeps returning and whether we’re the right fit to help.
And if you’re already a patient with us: keep showing up. We see the work you’re putting in, and we’re in your corner.
Dr. Nellie Poulin
Strong Performance Chiropractic