When Stretching Doesn’t Help

She'd had lower back pain for half her life. Stretching felt good momentarily but never lasted. Core exercises helped temporarily. This yoga therapy case study shows why understanding movement patterns matters more than strengthening or stretching

A few years ago, I met a woman in her late 40s.

She’d had lower back pain for more than half her life.

Bending over to pick something up off the ground was a complicated ordeal that took effort and support. The almost constant pain affected everything, her work, her sleep and exercising.

She asked if I might be able to help. I was convinced I could, and that it didn’t have to be difficult.

She’d already tried everything:

Stretching. Her go-to because it felt so good in the moment. Pull and stretch until you really feel it. (I still fall for this myself sometimes, and then regret it the next day.)

Core training. When your back hurts you should strengthen your abs for stability. It helps for a while. Until it doesn’t and the pain comes back, in the same place or somewhere new.

Painkillers. They worked until they wore off. That’s not sustainable and creates side effects she didn’t want.

Does that sound familiar?

So what did work?

We looked at the biomechanics of her movement. What were her back muscles (and other muscles) doing that wasn’t their job?

With something as simple as lifting one leg, we noticed her abdomen, pelvis, and shoulders were all helping. Muscles that had no business being involved were jumping in to “help.”

She couldn’t believe something so small would make a difference. It took a while before she was ready to give it a real chance.

But the work was simple:

feel what you’re doing. Notice what’s actually happening in your body. Let the muscles that should work do their job, and let everything else relax.

Her pain lessened, significantly.

So much so that last year she started strength training, something she’d never thought she’d be able to do.

Here’s what I learned from her (and many others like her):

There’s no one thing that works for everyone. Depending on what’s happening in your body, the answer might be movement, nutrition, lifestyle, or all three.

But the key is always the same: feeling.

Can you feel what you’re doing? Does that match what’s actually happening and how does your body respond?

That’s what I teach. They’re not protocols or one-size-fits-all solutions, but you learning to listen to your body and work with it instead of against it.

much love,