Back In Shape Podcast

Lumbar spinal stenosis only means one of the holes in your spine is smaller than it should be — which is a symptom, not the whole story of why your back hurts. If you've been diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis at L4/L5 or L5/S1 and told that's the explanation, this session unpacks what the diagnosis actually says — and what it leaves out. Stenosis simply means a narrowing: either the ce...

The best stretch for a herniated disc isn't the cobra or hanging from a bar — it's a rolled-up towel, and here's why it works. If you've got a herniated disc (a slipped disc, disc bulge or prolapsed disc) at L4/L5 or L5/S1 and you've been handed the usual stretches — the cobra, knee hugs, hanging — this session explains the one that actually addresses the root cause. A herniate...

Spondylolisthesis sounds frightening on a scan report, but for most people it's been there quietly for years — and it responds to the right rehab. If your MRI or X-ray has come back with spondylolisthesis, spondylolysis, or a retrolisthesis and the words alone have you worried, this session is for you. We walk through what each term actually means — the pars defect (spondylolysis), the forward...

Your sciatica stopping hurting isn't the same as your back being healed — and mistaking the two is why so many people relapse. If your sciatica has settled before — only to flare again the moment you got back to normal life — this session explains why, and what to measure instead. When the pain eases, it's tempting to assume the injury has healed. But the pain easing and the back being reb...

Piriformis syndrome gets blamed for sciatica all the time — but for most people the real problem is an injury in the lower back, not a muscle. If you've been told a tight piriformis is pinching your sciatic nerve and causing your sciatica, this session is worth your time. Piriformis syndrome is one of the most common labels handed out for buttock and leg pain — but it's often a catch-all....

Your sciatica keeps coming back because you've been treating the symptom, not the injury in your lower back that's driving it. If your sciatica has dragged on for months or years — short-term relief, then another flare, then relief again — this session explains why, and how to speed it up. Sciatica isn't the diagnosis; it's a symptom. The pain, numbness, burning and tingling down y...

Your herniated disc hasn't healed because you've been treating the stiffness, not the injury — and a herniated disc is a load-bearing injury. If you've got a herniated disc (a slipped disc, disc bulge or prolapsed disc) at L4/L5 or L5/S1 and it still hasn't settled, this session explains why — and how it actually heals. A herniated disc is a loading failure: an injury to the annulu...

An injection can take away your sciatica, but it doesn't heal the injury causing it — and that distinction decides whether you get better. If you've had, or you're being offered, a steroid injection, epidural or nerve block for sciatica or a herniated disc (a slipped disc or disc bulge) at L4/L5 or L5/S1, this session reframes the whole decision around one question: what is this inject...

Strengthening beats stretching for a herniated disc every time — and once you see why, the months of failed stretching finally make sense. If you've been stretching for months to ease your sciatica or a herniated disc (a slipped disc or disc bulge) at L4/L5 or L5/S1 and you keep ending up back at square one, this session explains the reason. Stretching is a relief tool at best — it loosens the...

Stretching your hamstrings won't fix your sciatica — but it isn't useless either, and the difference is the whole point of this session. If you've got sciatica or a herniated disc and you've been stretching your hamstrings for months without lasting relief, this one explains why. We look at what's actually driving the leg pain, numbness and tightness — an injury low in the lumb...

Why isn't your back pain getting better? For years, lower back pain and sciatica sufferers have been trapped in a frustrating cycle of flare-ups, temporary relief, and inevitable relapse. In part two of the Back In Shape manifesto, we break down the fundamental philosophy behind real, lasting spinal rehabilitation. We explain why a back that has simply stopped hurting is not the same as a spin...

If you have been struggling with persistent lower back pain, sciatica, or a herniated disc for months or even years, you have likely tried everything. From painkillers and rest to endless stretching and appointments, the cycle of temporary relief followed by another flare-up is frustrating and exhausting. You are not broken, and you are not a hopeless case. The reality is that the strategy you hav...

If you have ever been left completely incapacitated simply by bending over to put on a sock or getting out of your car, you are not alone. It can feel deeply frustrating and mysterious when a herniated disc or sciatica keeps flaring up for seemingly no reason at all. However, once you understand the actual mechanics of the human spine, these unpredictable flare-ups make perfect sense. Unlike perip...

When you are in the middle of a severe sciatica flare-up or a herniated disc flare-up, the standard medical advice is almost always to stop moving and rest until the pain settles. However, this common approach often traps you in a perpetual cycle of persistent lower back pain. In reality, the best time to start your rehabilitation programme is actually during the flare-up itself. This is because a...

If you have recently received an MRI report citing lumbar spinal stenosis, facet joint hypertrophy, or spondylolisthesis, it is entirely normal to feel alarmed. You may have been told that the only way to manage your lower back pain or sciatica is through endless stretching, knee-to-chest movements, and forward bending to 'open up the spine'. However, this common advice often traps individ...

Many individuals with severe lumbar conditions—such as a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, or those recovering from a microdiscectomy—are handed the impossible "No Bending, Lifting, or Twisting" (BLT) rule. While meant to be protective, this generic advice leaves you without a practical strategy for the real world. How are you supposed to put on your socks, lift a heavy coat, or simply na...

If you have been struggling with long-standing lower back pain, sciatica, or a diagnosed L5-S1 herniated disc, it is common to feel like you have tried everything. From chiropractors and osteopaths to injections and even microdiscectomy surgery, many patients find themselves stuck in a cycle of temporary relief followed by frustrating flare-ups. The reason for this often lies in a focus on symptom...

You've been to multiple physios, had numerous MRIs, and yet that L5-S1 herniated disc is still causing you daily agony. The core problem isn't necessarily the injury itself, but rather that traditional rehabilitation often treats a piece of paper—the MRI scan—instead of treating the person attached to it. A herniated disc doesn't exist in a vacuum; it exists inside a human being who ha...

In this session, we tackle the common myth that when you injure your lower back, a joint or herniated disc has simply "slipped out of place" and needs to be instantly popped back in. A herniated disc is not a jigsaw piece that can be slotted back into the spine; it represents a failure of the annulus fibrosus and damage to the surrounding stabilising ligaments. Treating it as a simple al...

A common misconception when dealing with lower back pain, a herniated disc, or sciatica is that your specific MRI findings dictate the need for a highly customised, unique set of exercises. While a surgeon absolutely requires pinpoint precision to perform a microdiscectomy, effective conservative rehabilitation operates on a different fundamental principle. The goal of rehab is not to isolate a mi...

In this live session, we tackle the biggest hurdles preventing your recovery from a herniated disc and sciatica. Far too many people get caught in the "relief trap," obsessing over immediate pain relief and trying to stretch or "unpinch" irritated nerves. Unfortunately, focusing solely on soothing symptoms often leads to actions that irritate the underlying structural injury. W...

If you have been struggling with a herniated disc or sciatica, you have likely been given a generic printout of stretches, knee hugs, and child's poses. While these movements might provide a temporary sensation of release, they do not constitute genuine rehabilitation. Moving a joint through a range of motion, such as aggressive nerve flossing or cat-camels, fails to build the structural resil...

It is a very common misconception that a severe injury to the lower back requires surgical intervention, but in reality, a herniated disc can go through a natural healing process. However, this healing does not mean the disc returns to its exact original structure. For example, if a disc has dropped in height, it will not magically inflate back to 100% of its normal height. Instead, you must learn...

Can rounding your back actually heal a herniated disc? Today we’re tackling a massive trend in the rehab space: using exercises like Jefferson Curls to intentionally round your lower back under load. While the idea that "the spine is designed to bend, so we should train it to bend" sounds incredibly logical, treating a multi-segmental spinal column like a simple hinge joint ignores the b...

It is incredibly frustrating to suffer from debilitating lower back pain or sciatica, only to be told by a specialist that your MRI or X-ray is "normal" or "all clear." Often, this leads to dismissive advice or the harmful suggestion that the pain is purely psychological. However, just because minor disc changes or wear-and-tear are considered "normal" for your age gr...