I was 13 years old when I first started having back pain. I don’t talk about my back pain story much, but I really should. Because it’s changed my life, in both good ways and bad ways. And there’s a lot to learn from it. If you’re just here for my free PDF guide “My Back Pain Hacks,” then by all means… get it here. If not, read on to learn more about my back pain hacks and my back pain story.
My Back Pain Story
In my teens, I decided to quit all other sports and just focus on dance.
I danced because I loved it, at first. But as I danced, it also became about self-worth and competition. I had moved schools a lot as a kid, and I never really had a tribe of friends. I wasn’t one of those kids who everyone knew from kindergarten. I often felt isolated and alone. My friendships weren’t deep. And that was the case at the dance studio, too.
I was the outsider. I didn’t go to school with any of the other kids. I was a little weird because I was the girl that graduated college at 16.
My only chance to level the playing field in my social life was to dance really, really, really well.
So I worked hard at it. I danced more than 11 hours a week, at one point. I practiced at home, constantly arabesquing, pirouetting and doing barre exercises in my kitchen (I used the counter top as my barre).
And I stretched. And stretched. And stretched. I stretched my feet. I stretched my hips. And I stretched my back. I could do the splits in all three directions. I could do the oversplits on one side, meaning that I could put my feet up on blocks and my hips would still touch the floor. I could be in a split, arch my head back, bend my leg up and put my foot on my head. I took pride in my improvements and I dreamed about being a great dancer, traveling around the world with a company.
What I didn’t know at the time is that the constant stretching and repetition was wearing down my vertebrae. And that dancers are the butt of many jokes told by physical therapists… Because our injuries are plentiful.
As I said, my first pain was at 13. It wasn’t bad for more than a few days. It went away, and I can’t remember much again until I was 16 or 17 years old. I was training at a professional college dance conservatory full time. I had days where I was in pain. I was in SO much pain that I often couldn’t participate in class. On some days, tying my shoes was painful.
At 18, I started ballroom dancing. I wore ballroom high heels all the time, and my pain flared up again.
At 19, I finally went to the doctor. He took an X-Ray of my back and informed me that my disc was on-par with what he usually sees in people age 60 and up.
Bad news.
My Back Pain Hacks
To make a long story very short, I needed to figure out how to heal myself and be pain free. So I went to graduate school and studied Exercise Science with a concentration in Strength and Conditioning. I learned the science of how to strengthen my body. I learned about the physiology and physics of movement. I learned how to apply it all to myself. Ultimately, this injury is how I came to be here (on this blog and doing the work I do), today.
From 2012 to 2019, my back rarely bothered me. I definitely had a few attacks, usually doing stupid things like picking pillows up off the floor. I was able to be very active. I ran 5+ miles multiple times per week. I deadlifted 225 lbs. I backsquatted 160 lbs for 5 reps. I did pull-ups. I had babies.
Now, at 32, I have 3 millimeters of space left in between my fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae. Which is classified in the most extreme stage of degeneration for a vertebrae. I’ve had a flare up since having my third child (and carrying her on one side too much). But I’m so grateful for the quality of life I’ve been able to lead over the last several years.
These are the things you can learn from my story:
- It’s possible to live a very full life with degenerative disc disease, but you need to know a few things about movement, exercise and self care. With that in mind, I’ve created the PDF “My Back Pain hacks” to share how I create exercise programs that are spine-friendly for me!
- There’s such a thing as TOO MUCH. Too much training. Too much stretching.
- Joint health is the most under-thought-about thing when people choose an exercise mode. Once you damage your discs, there’s no going back! So, we shouldn’t always be thinking about if an exercise program is going to make us hot, athletic or feel good about ourselves. Sometimes we should thing about whether we’re going to be able to WALK comfortably in 10 years.
What type of back pain do you have? Comment below. I’d love to hear your story, too. I don’t always have the time tor respond to comments, but I promise I read every one.