I stopped
waiting for my
back to feel better.

Back pain was my long-term roommate.

I grew up with C-shaped scoliosis. Sleeping was often a negotiation with my own spine. Comfortable positions were rare and temporary.

In the summer of 2023, I dove into a river and hyperextended my back so hard that my heels ended up behind my head. It was the kind of party trick no one asked for. The pain stuck around for six months or more. Nights were the worst, and training felt like walking on eggshells.

I did what a lot of people do: I stopped training the areas that hurt. Rest seemed logical. It just wasn’t working.

A former MMA fighter said the quiet part out loud.

In December 2023, I talked to a guy who’d been through his own back issues. A surgeon had told him to try deadlifts with good form for a few months before considering surgery. He did. The pain left.

That was enough for me. I started deadlifting carefully, obsessing over form, and refusing to load the bar until it felt right.

Not “mostly better.” Gone. And the side effects were pretty good too: more muscle, more strength, and a lot less time spent treating my back like a fragile museum piece.

Strength works better when the whole system is online.

Deadlifts were the main character in this story, but balanced training mattered. Posterior chain, chest, triceps, quads, abs — the full crew. My core got stronger, my training got more consistent, and the old back pain stayed gone.

Turns out avoiding every movement that felt sketchy wasn’t the long-term plan. Building capacity was.