Physio’s Journey With Back Pain – Part 5

To finally get over the hump with my sciatic pain, I had to sacrifice a long-planned weekend away in Lorne. There was simply no way I could tolerate sitting in a car for three hours. So the family went without me, and I stayed home to manage my symptoms.

As frustrating as it was, staying behind turned out to be exactly what I needed. With no sitting, consistent medication, and a few days of pacing and walking, my symptoms eased dramatically across the long weekend. It was incredible—after weeks of pain, suddenly being able to move without nerve pain felt like a huge weight lifting off me. Even driving without that familiar shooting pain was amazing.

Feeling great and finally symptom-free, I went into the garden and noticed dozens of grapefruits on the ground (long story—I thought I’d planted a lime tree). Without thinking, I bent over again and again, picking them up and tossing them into the green bin. I felt fine at the time.

But the next morning… a deep, nasty ache had set into my lower back. The leg pain was gone, but now I was stuck with stubborn back pain for the next two weeks. Honestly, I’d still prefer the back pain over the sciatic pain—but it was still a very foolish move on my part.

Lessons Learned

1. Pain going away doesn’t mean the injury has fully healed

This is one of the biggest traps we all fall into—patients, athletes, physios, everyone. We assume that when the pain disappears, the body must be ready for anything. But symptoms fade before the tissue regains full strength and tolerance.

It’s no different to a footballer with a hamstring strain: the pain might settle quickly, but it still takes rehab, time, and gradual loading before they can sprint without reinjury. Your back is no different. The improvement in symptoms fooled me into thinking I was good to go when the reality was that the disc and surrounding tissues still needed more time and careful loading.