In 2020, I injured my lower back and made the mistake of ignoring it. I continued with intense exercise - calisthenics, cycling, hiking - believing I could push through the pain. When I added heavy deadlifts and squats to "strengthen" my lower body, the pain escalated significantly.
Over the next two years, my condition deteriorated. I reached a point where sitting for more than five minutes became unbearable. Standing for extended periods was equally difficult. I had to work from bed and lost much of my independence. Traditional medical approaches (X-rays, orthopedic consultations) provided no answers or relief.
The turning point came when I discovered Original 12 Minute Foundation Training by Dr. Eric Goodman (it's free to watch on YouTube, follow the link in the next section). After practicing these exercises daily for 3 months, I regained the ability to sit and work at a desk for limited periods. However, I repeatedly fell into a cycle of feeling better, returning to normal exercise, and reinjuring myself. The reinjuries happened primarily during squats - even with light weight (20kg total) - when I tried to get back to standard 5x5 full body workout plans.
Through continued research, I identified that my issues stemmed primarily from lower back weakness and SI joint dysfunction. The exercises below represent what has helped me progress from debilitating pain to functional daily life.
Foundation Training by Dr. Eric Goodman
Watch on YouTube
This remains my top recommendation for anyone starting their recovery. It teaches proper posterior chain engagement and helped me regain basic function after months of disability.
Back Extensions on Roman Chair
Watch on YouTube (from Low Back Ability - highly recommend watching his other videos)
This exercise made the most significant difference in building lower back resilience. Since I had been doing the Goodman training for 3 months, I was able to start doing full reps pretty quickly. However, the instructor recommends starting VERY slowly and easily - see his other videos for proper progression. Start with bodyweight only and progress very slowly.
My progression: Started with isometric holds for 30 seconds, progressed to 1 minute holds, then began partial range repetitions, until I could perform full range of motion. The split squat holds and deep squat holds helped significantly with achieving full range.
Y-Raises in Iso Hold Back Extension
Watch on YouTube
Performing Y-raises while holding a back extension position on the roman chair was crucial for strengthening my lower traps (I had and still have strong upper parts because of pull-ups, but this also made them very tight) and improving overall posterior chain coordination. Proper form is essential here.
Update (March 2026): I later found out that stretching tight hips was probably counterproductive in my case - see the pelvic alignment section below.
My persistent hip stiffness and pelvic pain were related to SI joint dysfunction. These exercises provided significant relief:
Deep Squat Holds
Watch on YouTube
Hold a deep squat position to mobilize the hips and SI joint. I couldn't hold this for even 15 seconds at the beginning - Y-raises and back extensions helped build up to it. Start with short durations.
Split Squat Holds
Watch on YouTube
Recommended to start with the front leg elevated higher.
Couch Stretch
Watch on YouTube
A classic hip flexor stretch that addresses anterior hip tightness contributing to lower back and SI joint issues. It started to help only AFTER I built some resilience with squat holds.
Understanding Back Pain and SI Joint Issues
Back Pain Video | SI Joint Video
These videos have clickbaity titles, but they provide a nice compressed version of the information to get you going and give you hope for recovery. As mentioned earlier, I highly recommend this channel in general - all of the crucial back pain related information is available for free.
In December 2025, I had another episode. This time I hurt myself doing pigeon stretch and pigeon strength holds (holding the position and then releasing - a common technique). This made me rethink things. The back extensions and Goodman workout were clearly good - they kept me functional through 2025 - but they weren't enough. Something else was going on.
Through more research, I found out about pelvic alignment. My body is in a permanent anterior pelvic tilt, and it turns out that stretching my tight hips and legs (like the couch stretch) was only making things worse. The tightness wasn't the problem - it was a symptom of the misalignment. Stretching a muscle that's tight because it's compensating for a structural issue just destabilizes things further.
Conor Harris - Pelvic Alignment Videos
Video 1 | Video 2
Simple exercises but they really did help. Focused on correcting the pelvic tilt rather than stretching around it.
Venus Gabby (Gabby Qu)
YouTube Channel
Helpful approach to alignment work. However, she recommends skipping any strengthening during alignment training. I followed this advice and it led to another episode of back pain in March 2026 - without the back extensions my lower back lost the resilience it had built up. Lesson learned: I can't drop strengthening entirely.
I discovered the pelvic floor - diaphragm connection and started doing breathing exercises (90/90 supine breathing with vacuum). This was surprisingly impactful. My chest and shoulders had been stuck in permanent internal rotation, and through the breathing work they finally expanded. My ribcage started pointing more downward instead of flaring out. An unexpected bonus: this also relieved the left shoulder and wrist pain I'd been dealing with since around 2021.
I also found out that my foot arches are very flat - probably from years of excessive cycling in soft, non-professional shoes. Flat feet are part of the whole pelvic alignment chain. I started doing foot exercises - arch strengthening, fascia stretches - as part of the alignment work.
As of late March 2026, I'm trying to incorporate both alignment training and light strengthening. I see some promising results, but I honestly can't say I've finally dealt with my problems. I've had enough false "I'm fixed" moments to know better. The alignment approach feels like it addresses something more fundamental than what I was doing before, but time will tell.
October 2025: I can work full 8-hour days at a desk, walk comfortably, and maintain daily activities. Hiking occasionally causes discomfort, and I've had to give up cycling and gym work for now. Recovery is ongoing, but quality of life has improved significantly. I still do all of these exercises at least 3 times a week to prevent regression.
March 2026: Still functional at desk, but dealing with setbacks from dropping strengthening work during alignment-only training. Currently combining both approaches. Some progress on the alignment front - better breathing, less shoulder/wrist pain, more awareness of what's actually going on with my body. But I'm not going to claim I'm recovered. I've been wrong about that before.
Today's gym and fitness industry is appalling. We're surrounded by media where people whose life is to look good (that's how they make money) try to imply and feed you the idea that you NEED to look the same. Some promise you'll feel better, others claim you'll build discipline and character, and many insist it's crucial for maintaining your health. They push everything onto us - training plans, sponsored supplements, expensive branded clothing. Even if they genuinely believe they're right, it doesn't make them right. They're monetizing people's insecurities, which is evil.
Most popular training plans are bodybuilding plans. Very few talk about anything different. Even if you think "let's build some muscle, I'm sitting all day" - you can hit my case. I did everything by the book, saw good results, but it almost ruined my life (I was 27 when I first wrote this). It's not just me. Looking at comments on the pain relief related videos, many people have struggled with exactly the same problems, and the methods presented above seem to work for them too (I assume most of them are genuine, not sympathy seekers or notice-me sycophants). Not everyone needs to be bench pressing 100kg. It feels like there's something fundamentally broken with the so-called fitness industry.
My experience is only with private medical care in Poland, so I can't speak to other countries. Maybe I was unlucky, but in my case, it was a waste of money. The doctors were arrogant, patronizing, and didn't truly care about patients. One told me he was busy with "real issues" (another patient's surgery) and wanted to push me to one of his students. He was very proud of his "professor" title - mentioned it about 10 times during a 10-minute visit (an expensive one, too). Another guy said my condition qualified for surgery. All of them had god complex. It's hard to have any respect for these people.
I went to three different physiotherapists. Everyone tried the same generic approach. Some said "you're too young to have back problems," others said "yeah, your hips aren't aligned," but they didn't really know how to help me.
Note: I've never visited chiropractors since they aren't popular in Poland - they're seen more like shamans.
A remedy that helped my pain IS strength work. My point here isn't to discourage you from seeing medical professionals or personal trainers, but don't count on them to magically cure your issues. In the end, the people I found on the internet are also just people - probably more committed to understanding these specific problems.
Note: Everything mentioned here is my personal experience and not medical advice.
Good luck.