My back pain story

My first experience with back problems wasn’t with my own back, but with my father’s. I was about 15 years old and he was 45. He suffered from severe symptoms for several months, to the point where he had to walk with a cane. From the outside, it was hard to understand why he was in such a situation. There hadn’t been any clear accident, like a car crash or a fall down the stairs, yet he was living with this pain without knowing the cause. I thought he was a little young to have back pain, and I never imagined that five years later, at the age of 20, I would be living that same nightmare.

People often ask me if spinal problems are genetic. Here’s my answer:

Every spine is different. The shape of the vertebrae, the size and thickness of the intervertebral discs, the orientation of certain joints, etc., all vary from person to person. These differences mean that some people have more spinal mobility, while others can tolerate heavier loads. In other words, our parents pass on a spine that may be better suited for some activities than others, with a predisposition to injuries that can be greater or smaller. But you don’t necessarily have a higher risk of back pain just because your parents did. As Stuart McGill says: “Genetics loads the gun, but physical exposure pulls the trigger.”

At 15, I started doing a lot of road cycling, running, ice hockey, and weight training at the gym (powerlifting: deadlift, squat, bench press, plus various free-weight and machine exercises). Over time, what began as minor discomfort from a tired back turned into real pain from an actual injury. Eventually, I could no longer sit comfortably on my bike, nor practice my other sports without pain. More and more gym exercises became intolerable, until even walking for more than 15 minutes became a challenge… and I used to love running for an hour!

The symptoms evolved: from a slight pressure in my lower back after a long flight, I ended up living a nightmare during my university classes. By the end of my studies, sitting for more than 15 minutes was a struggle. Then I started feeling electric shocks in my right leg, down in the calf. At first, you think it’s a calf injury, but in reality, it’s a nerve being compressed by a torn disc bulging backward. Say hello to the hell of sciatica! With time, by the age of 25, playing sports without pain had become a distant memory. I still remember not being able to stand long enough to do the dishes at night because of unbearable pressure in my lower back, or having to watch a movie lying on the floor while my girlfriend sat on the couch… very romantic!

There’s the daily pain from everyday tasks, the inability to practice sports, the loss of part of your social circle, the decline in physical fitness, and above all, the constant worry about the future that became more and more present for me. All of this went far beyond just a “back problem.” You lose part of your identity. And those closest to you suffer as well: they want to help, but they feel powerless. Some friends or family members even start doubting the seriousness of the problem, thinking you’re exaggerating. How can a young man in his twenties become so physically limited? No one understands… literally no one.

In my early twenties, I sought help, but without success. Looking back now, I realize that the conventional rehabilitation system is not designed for severe back problems like mine, or those of my clients. It takes something different… something very different.

What people don’t realize is that you have to change the way you move. You need to learn how to move in a way that limits stress on the spine. The movement adjustments required are specific to each back problem. For example, two people with the same disc herniation may need completely different movement strategies. That’s why generic advice on social media is often problematic. The more severe the problem, the more the details matter, and those are exactly the details you learn at FitBacks.

During my graduate studies at the university’s medical department, I focused my kinesiology training on spinal rehabilitation. Very quickly, both out of passion and necessity, my entire life turned in that direction. I remember a trip to Greece with my father: the weather was beautiful, the sea was stunning, and yet I was locked in my room reading Low Back Disorders. I became completely obsessed.

How did I injure my back?

Back injuries usually develop through accumulation—except in the case of a major accident, like a car crash. Through accumulation, you create micro-traumas in a spinal structure, and over time, an injury develops. The tolerance threshold is exceeded too many times. I developed my injury by practicing my sports with poor technique, too frequently, and without enough rest. The problem is that you can create micro-traumas without feeling pain at first, they build up silently. The truth is, I was extremely excessive with sports. It was my outlet, my joy in life… my drug.

When the injury is there, you try to relieve the pain, but very often you choose strategies that make the situation worse in the long term. That’s what I did for years. You stretch in ways that feel good in the moment, but in reality, you’re putting tension on an irritated nerve, which over time makes the problem persist or even worsen. You do rehab exercises with poor technique, which compress the spine beyond its capacity. When you start to feel a little better, you go back to the gym and do exercises your back still can’t tolerate, because you don’t know where to start rebuilding your back’s capacity.

Very few people have the FitBacks expertise to truly understand the impact of exercises on the spine. For example: how to position your back during exercises is far more meticulous than most people think; where to place body segments to stimulate adaptation without overloading the spine; how to contract your core to limit stress and properly stabilize the spine (something I correct very often); how to use different relaxation techniques to balance compression and decompression; how to position the body to avoid putting tension on already irritated nerve structures… and much more!

I’ve had the privilege of working with the best in the world: first with Dr. Stuart McGill, with whom I am now a certified member of the BackFitPro association, and also with my professor Dr. Aleksandar Dejanovic, founder of the FitBacks school, with whom I co-founded FitBacks Canada.

The goal of FitBacks Canada is to create the best place in the world to help severe back pain cases, not only to regain a pain-free life, but also to achieve excellent physical health! You’ll take back control of your spine and become 100% autonomous. Becoming a FitBacks client requires a strong commitment, but it’s one you’ll never regret. The ball is in your court!