Empowered Recovery: Mental Health Insights for Back Pain Relief

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How Mental Health Impacts Back Pain: Unlocking Recovery Through a Holistic Approach

Back pain is one of the most common physical ailments that people face, but what many don’t realize is how deeply intertwined it is with mental health. In a conversation between experts Ben James and Jacob Steyn, the focus shifts to the critical role mental well-being plays in the recovery process for back pain patients. Their discussion highlights the need for a comprehensive approach that goes beyond just physical rehabilitation.

Here’s why understanding this connection is crucial and how it can drive real improvement in back pain recovery.

Understanding the Back Pain-Mental Health Connection

Back pain doesn’t just stem from physical causes; it can be exacerbated by stress, anxiety, and mental health challenges. As Ben James and Jacob Steyn discuss, patients often face a mental barrier in the belief that they can recover. In fact, many patients might struggle to even express their pain properly due to mental health concerns, such as anxiety or depression.

This highlights the need for healthcare professionals to assess and address mental health just as much as the physical aspects of back pain. For example, by using intake forms that dig deeper into a patient’s psychological state, both Ben and Jacob ensure they capture the full scope of a patient’s issues. This approach helps them tailor treatment plans that not only work on spinal health but also boost mental resilience.

Takeaway for Patients: Be open to exploring the mental health side of your back pain. The sooner you address both the mind and the body, the faster your recovery could be.

The Power of Education and Reassurance

One of the key insights Ben and Jacob emphasize is that empowering patients with knowledge can significantly improve their recovery outcomes. Many patients have misconceptions about how quickly they should heal or the exact cause of their discomfort. These unrealistic expectations often lead to frustration, making the mental struggle even harder.

Ben suggests providing clear explanations about the anatomy of the spine and pain management strategies, which helps patients feel more in control of their recovery. Jacob supplements this approach by using simple drawings or demonstrations to ensure patients can visualize what’s happening in their bodies.

For Example:

Maintaining a neutral spine position to alleviate pain.
The importance of consistency in physical exercises to strengthen the back.

By educating patients, you give them the tools to manage their own pain. Clarity and simplicity empower them to stick with a structured recovery process rather than feeling overwhelmed.

Takeaway for Patients: Knowledge is power. Understand your body, and you’ll be better equipped to manage and overcome back pain.

Pain Management and the Role of Realistic Expectations

Another major theme that arises is the importance of honesty and clarity when it comes to recovery time. Chronic pain often leads patients to expect a quick fix, but this is rarely the case. Jacob advises overshooting the expected recovery time slightly to account for individual healing differences. By doing so, patients are less likely to feel disappointed if recovery takes longer than anticipated.

Ben and Jacob both stress the need for structured routines to help patients manage pain and improve their mental health. A structured daily plan, which includes simple activities or exercises, can help reduce anxiety by providing a sense of purpose and accountability. This also improves sleep patterns, which are often disrupted in patients with chronic pain.

Takeaway for Patients: Healing takes time, and that’s okay. Stick to a routine, and allow yourself to recover at your own pace.

Creating a Safe Space for Recovery

Emotional support is just as important as physical treatment. Patients need a safe space to express their concerns, frustrations, and fears. Both Ben and Jacob agree that part of a healthcare professional’s role is to listen to patients and acknowledge the psychological weight of their condition.

When patients feel heard, they’re more likely to trust the recovery process and commit to the necessary steps for rehabilitation. This holistic approach—addressing both emotional and physical health—is key to long-term recovery.

Takeaway for Patients: Don’t be afraid to express your feelings about your pain. A good healthcare provider will help you navigate the emotional aspects of your recovery.

Practical Steps to Improve Recovery

Here are some actionable strategies from Ben James and Jacob Steyn to help improve your back pain recovery:

Improve Your Sleep: Chronic pain often disrupts sleep, making recovery harder. Jacob recommends using daily routines to help patients feel more in control, which can improve sleep patterns. Consider magnesium supplements twice a day to aid with sleep and pain relief.
Address Anxiety: Patients often feel stress and anxiety about their condition. Incorporating direct questions about mental health into intake forms can help uncover hidden factors that may be impacting recovery. This also opens up a dialogue about how stress or anxiety might be worsening physical symptoms.
Stick to a Plan: Consistency is key. Whether it’s exercises, sleep habits, or diet changes, sticking to a plan provides a foundation for recovery. Set realistic goals and timelines with your healthcare provider, and don’t rush the process.

Conclusion: The Importance of a Holistic Approach

At the end of the day, back pain recovery isn’t just about strengthening muscles or improving posture. It’s about holistically addressing both the mind and body. By empowering patients with knowledge, setting realistic expectations, and providing emotional support, healthcare professionals can help individuals navigate the complex journey to recovery.

If you’re ready to take control of your back pain and mental health, join our online course to learn how to master pain management, optimize recovery, and rebuild a stronger, healthier version of yourself.

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This will not only relieve your back pain but give you the tools you need for lifelong health and well-being.

Final Thought:
When it comes to back pain, both your body and your mind deserve attention. Take the time to address both, and you’ll be on your way to a healthier, pain-free life!

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Episode Transcription

Intro 0:00
When we’re young, we move with freedom and confidence with a great resilience to injury. But somewhere along the line, we develop poor habits and become more vulnerable to back pain, back pain solutions features, evidence based and practical advice to help you take back control of your health and get back to the activities you love. This is your guide to better back healthy movement. So join us as we demystify some of the commonly held beliefs about back pain and build your confidence to a stronger back the smart way.

Jacob Steyn 0:30
And welcome back to our podcast, the back pain solutions. And today we’re going to talk about another case, especially a case of Benz. And hello, Ben, how you doing?

Ben James 0:42
I’m good. Thank you, my friend. Yeah. It’s not raining here. So we’re, we’re happy the moment?

Jacob Steyn 0:48
That’s great. That’s great. Yeah, it’s, it’s still raining here. Is it? It’s just, it’s a mess. It’s a mess. Well, we’re gonna we’re going to talk about your case today, Ben?

Ben James 1:00
Yes.

Jacob Steyn 1:01
I’m wondering, can you tell us a little bit more about this specific patient, give us a bit of a background? Yeah.

Ben James 1:08
So this, this client came to see me relatively young guy, 45 years of age. He’s a, he’s a recruitment director owns his own business. Obviously, pretty, pretty successful, ie, he’s got a background in, in health care in terms of in terms of caring. So there’s some context there in terms of how he, he might have had to bend in the past and lift and support patients. But a lot of sitting now, as a, as a, as a kind of day to day activity. He’s had 30 years of back pain on and off. So it’s that kind of classic background a time to time with flare ups, these kinds of acute events. That classic you know, my back’s gone incident, that over the years has been managed with chiropractic care, various different therapists. And in this occasion, he’s had an eight month history of back pain can’t seem to resolve in seeing a chiropractor, weekly, certainly, for a good number of months, you will see the chiropractor weekly. And they were doing very much hands on care, passive kind of treatment, using the little kind of activator to gun, you know, the kind of clicking that gets a little bit of movement through those joints. But it was an older chiropractor that may have been a little bit less kind of manual in terms of their own, you know, the impact on their own bodies. And therefore, things are a little bit more mild or light, if you like in terms of in terms of treatment, little bit of exercise guidance. And some of the exercises we recommend, but certainly no coaching on those exercises, no challenging of those exercises, just to continue review how they’re being executed at all.

Jacob Steyn 2:59
No real movement guidance, you would say, no movement

Ben James 3:02
guidance. Yeah. Then I said that’s going to be key that in this case, in terms of movement and spine hygiene, but came to see me a little bit frustrated, you would say the guy is in good shape. He goes to the gym, he’s very active. He’s got two children. And he was just becoming a little bit frustrated that it wasn’t resolving and settling as he would, as he would like. And as had been the case in the past when he had these episodes and had some had some input. Yeah. So that’s, that’s, that’s the background, if you like to the case.

Jacob Steyn 3:41
So can you tell me a little bit more about what you found then with the investigation? Testing?

Ben James 3:48
Yeah. So there was no, there was no suggestion of any neurological deficit in terms of symptoms or signs. So he had no, no radicular pain, a little bit of a little bit into the groin, but not kind of your classic sciatica radiating down the leg, but paying back a calf pain, anything like that. And that was sort of not

Jacob Steyn 4:10
to just have a typical hernia, no, or anything that’s binging on a nerve that’s causing nothing

Ben James 4:17
like going down. Nothing obvious. Yeah, nothing obvious. And I think there was one episode in the in the past where he had some kind of, I had some sciatica. But again, as we always, always know, with patients take that with a pinch of salt. It seems to be a term that a lot of patients throw out there. I’ve got a bit of sciatica at the moment. And then when you investigate you think Well, I’m not I’m not seeing that. I think as soon as patients have any kind of radiating pain, a bit of buttock pain or groin pain, they they feel, Oh, it’s sciatica, or it’s nerve pain. That seems to be quite a common kind of go to description, but no suggestion of any region we could at all we

Jacob Steyn 4:58
could say has McCann little pain, for example. That’s what we typically call it. Exactly. Yeah, there was never more joint like, yes, there’s functional Yeah,

Ben James 5:08
exactly that there was some background aka there were no red flags, no sign of infection. Blood pressure was good, as I say, you know, is in good shape, posture looks generally pretty good, you wouldn’t really say there was any real kind of slouching through the back when sitting, that’s a classic sign I’m looking forward to as soon as patients sit on the bench bearing that just kind of slouch through that lower back. not obvious, but definitely you could see a little bit of that, but no, all the reflexes muscle strength testing, or fine or good, just this very specific low back pain very stiff through the middle of the back, upper traps neck, that kind of area was on a is on a laptop a lot day to day on a computer doing you know that kind of work or on the phone. But in terms of those classic tests, straight leg raising for for nerve tension, negative or find their range of motion, a little bit painful on extension, a little bit painful on on flexion. So bending forward. And the Kemp’s test, the kind of leaning back into the side was positive, both sides more predominant on the right side, slumps test was positive for pain in the low back. So when he’s kind of slouching through that, no back, but no pain down the legs on on extension of the legs. And you know, and could move pretty easily without obvious pain.

Jacob Steyn 6:43
Okay. So we could say he has a mechanical dysfunction in his lower back. And not an acute episode, but maybe a chronic sort of sub acute situation is just not going away. Yeah, yeah, if there was a if there was a flare up, before he came to see you. Exactly.

Ben James 7:03
So there was definitely no acute pain. He wasn’t antiallergic he wasn’t moving in in a kind of uncomfortable way, a guarded way, there wasn’t huge amounts of muscle tension there reactive muscle spasm, it was just this kind of persistent background ache a little bit sharper on certain movements worse towards the end of a day. After work. That was that was his description. So it was certainly, and for a lot of patients, there would have been a lot of patients that probably just put up with it. And this is one of the key things we’re trying to offer, of course educate on or certainly with the clients I see. Don’t wait, don’t wait, don’t leave it. Don’t leave it. This guy was being proactive had been over the years. But particularly in this case, it just wasn’t resolving he wasn’t getting on top of it. He wanted to train pain free. And he was he was just, it was just frustrated.

Jacob Steyn 8:01
Burn Can I ask you what what would you say? You know, we we advise people not to wait, what would what could happen if they carry on like that? And they don’t actually do anything about that background ache, typical mechanical dysfunction situation? Well,

Ben James 8:17
I think that the thing with any pain or any disease or any problem, I think depending on different cultures, different environments, different experiences, the reaction to these things differs that there’s no doubt we have to, we have to bear in mind context and background and things. But like with anything, you know, if we leave it, it can get worse and worse and worse. And what we’re what we don’t want is a is a simple problem becoming a much bigger issue as a result of a lack of proactivity. And I say to patients, you are worth investing in your health, we have to be far more proactive and preventative with our health. And you know, if we look at, you know, America and the Europe, the rates of obesity, diabetes, all these other health related issues are such that we’re ticking time bombs, a lot of people, if we can be preventative proactive, will take a hell of a lot of pressure off the health care systems in respective countries, and will live far longer but far, far more optimal lives. We’re living longer, but we’re not living optimally. We’re not living with good health, in my opinion. And so, you know, if we relate that specifically to the back, a bit of an aching pain in the back, you could go and see someone like myself yourself, get some good guidance, some education, some exercises and you might never need to come back. If you’re young. And you take that advice. And and importantly you apply it on a day to day basis. And if we just could get people more ingrained in that thought process, then The back pain would not be the issue that it is. But the problem we have is that patients come to see us when they’re in pain. And when they’re in often significant pain. And a disc that was a bit of a disc bulge that is common if we, you know, I say to patients, I took an MRI scan of 100 people on the street today that are not suffering pain, a good percentage will have a disc bulge, that’s okay. But they’re not in pain at the moment, let’s not let that progress to be inflamed and then be problematic. And, and so yeah, ultimately, problems can become worse than they are, when you’re just feeling a bit of stiffness, the classic one as well as, yeah, I did something in the gym, or I did something I did a long journey and my back felt a bit stiff. And I did nothing about it. And then a couple of days later, bang, my back went is that, you know, listen to your body, the you know, stiffness, discomfort, listen to your body and apply some very simple things. And you can, you know, you can manage a lot of cases very, very effectively.

Jacob Steyn 11:03
I would say it’s a matter of being educated on a topic, being educated on a topic, and know how that applies to your body, your body type.

Ben James 11:11
Yeah, yeah, without a doubt, an added added responsibility, I would say, Yeah, responsibility, and I think we’ve responsibility is a big one, you know, I think we, you know, we have the brilliant NHS in the UK, which which is fantastic health care system to, to look after patients with disease injuries or involved in accidents, but we’ve got to take more ownership ourselves, you know, let’s take pressure off the NHS by looking after our health and eating well, and moving, etc, etc. So that then we’re not putting the pressure on these healthcare systems, and there is the responsibility of the individual. I feel sometimes, because we have a free healthcare system free at the point of entry. Does that make people complacent that if I have a problem, I’ll just go and see the doctor, and I’ve got free health care. But that can’t be true when you look at America and rates of obesity, where it is an insurance based system. And no, it’s more insurance based where you are over in Holland. And you’ve got you’ll see the same thing. So we have to be more responsible. We have to take more ownership. And I think part of the role for me now is a bit of accountability. Are you doing your exercises? Yeah, I’ve tried here now. Okay, let’s have a look. And then you’re mentioned an exercise. And I forget what which exercise is that? Okay, that gives me a good idea that they haven’t done the exercise, or the execution of the exercises is completely wrong. You haven’t done the exercises, and there’s no doubt you’ll say this as well, Jacob, the patients that commit to the exercises commit to the plan. Get better than those that don’t. It’s just fact. Yeah. Fact. And very fast as well. Yes. In some cases very, very fast. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Jacob Steyn 13:00
So Ben, what did you do with the beginning of your treatment? How do you start?

Ben James 13:06
So first of all, we we we did, of course, a very good examination, thorough examination, we rolled out the red flags, we did the neurology or fine there, did our classic orthopedic testing. And there were no doubt kind of, as often the case, some positive signs of a bit of a set joint irritation, positive signs of some, some disc pain. And very rarely is it one specific joint in one specific segment that’s causing the problem. So there’s often that kind of varied pattern with these patients, his glutes weren’t activating very effectively, when he extended through there, through the hips, a lot of that was coming through the low back, there was a lot of tightness through through the low back. There was definitely some some disco pain, a little bit of restriction in the low back. So there were some certainly some some signs there that could certainly warrant treatment in terms of manipulative therapy. It wasn’t a very acute kind of hot disc as it were, very rarely, when I adjust those patients, I just can’t see the benefit of doing that in terms of introducing rotational forces when something’s really acute, but this guy, would you let

Jacob Steyn 14:21
the Would you let the inflammation lower first before you start something

Ben James 14:25
I always do now. Yeah, my my approach with those patients that are really hot, a lot of it’s Prohm work yes, we’ll use the blocks particularly when there’s some some tension through the through the Para spinals I find that works very effectively, but very much gentle kind of some soft tissue work and keeping them in the prone position, doing some soft tissue work around the glutes to allow things to just relax a little bit and, and truth be told that the the impact of the hands on treatment in those cases, is probably minimal. It’s more the placebo effect of doing that, in some cases that is that is helpful. But it’s it’s part of a package of care that involves educated on the daily spine hygiene and the movement patterns that allow that hot disc to settle. In this case, we’re not dealing with a hot disc, we’re dealing I’m sure with a bit of disc pain. And so we always start with a consultation examination first, so we would initiate treatment on the next session. And the reason I do that is I want to introduce that patient to some fundamentals. Because I want to see how that impacts pain versus doing some treatment and introducing some exercises and things at the same time. Well, what’s what’s influencing the pain, it’s very difficult to establish if you’re doing so much at one time. So some of the things simple things that we discussed on that first visit, having essentially as a working diagnosis, diagnose some some disc pain, no doubt, it’s a bit of a central disc bulge, yes, some for set joint dysfunction, some some stiffness down there, and some soft tissue tension, very simple mechanical stuff. But that disc, as always, for me is, is the key area that I want to manage first, because by preventing that really acute inflammation, we can do a lot more a lot sooner and get a lot of progress very quickly, as you kind of indicated. So yes, we first of all, discussed a daily routine. Be aware that we’re more vulnerable during those first 30 minutes of the day when that disc is super hydrated. So during those first 30 minutes, gravity takes effect, it squeezes the fluid out the discs, and when we’re that bit more vulnerable. So we discussed how are you getting out of bed. And like with a lot of patients, it’s sitting bolt upright, in bed, immediate flexion through the low back. So picking the scab is the analogy where we’re aggravating the underlying problem potentially, as soon as we wake up. And then often we’re going and sitting down for some breakfast or whatever it might be. And again, just putting that pressure through the desk. So we we just discussed a very simple plan. Be aware of that first 30 minutes a day, let’s get up, get safely to the floor. Well, first of all, get safely out of bed, let’s learn to rotate onto our, onto our side legs out the side of the bed, get out of bed so that you’re keeping your back in a more neutral position. First thing, and then let’s lunge to the floor, let’s have a good movement pattern to keep that back in neutral, getting down to the floor and just do some very gentle five to seven repetitions of the cat camel. And then try not to sit for the first 30 minutes of the day, go out and have a walk, if you can. And we discussed walk in and activation of the glutes and getting those arms swinging, just so that we start to kind of introduce our back to the day if you like get it ready for the day. And also I think there’s a mental health benefit to getting out and walking in a morning because we’re just also manic in our lives now that we’re getting up going straight to work and we just don’t get a bit of time to reflect. So I think there’s a there’s a benefit to that as well in that just healthier lifestyle choices first. And then

Jacob Steyn 18:15
and so I guess there’s a there’s Sorry to interrupt, I guess there’s a there’s a reason why you give those specific things to him to do in the morning. Yes,

Ben James 18:23
because a lot of the times for him, he wasn’t getting out of bed in a in an optimal way. And a lot of the times you were sitting for breakfast and don’t jumping in the car, either go into the gym or go into work. So I just said look, let’s let’s just take a step back and not have such a manic morning and not introduce potential flexion in your lower back. First thing and then all we’re going to do throughout the day, try and vary your posture as much as you can and every 20 or 30 minutes getting up and moving around just so we’re not allowing that back to to start to slump in a chair because even with the best chair in the world, often patient start to kind of slouch and slump and there’s no doubt when he was sat on the bench. He slouched a little bit through the low back, it wasn’t obvious as it is in some cases. But it was enough that you could just see that little bit of flexion. So we educated them on neutral spine and bracing and just a better seated posture. But also kind of caveated if you sit with a nice neutral spine for eight hours, 10 hours a day without moving, that’s not going to be hugely helpful got to get up and move around too much exactly too much. And um let’s get get you out walking. And we just introduced that as a simple daily hygiene plan between the first session and then when when we followed up and saw him on his next first kind of treatment session. And you know, immediately immediately on the the end of the session, first of all what was what was an option received this feedback, countless times, I’ve never been told these things before, I’ve never, in 30 years been told this basic stuff, simple stuff. And so we felt far more confident that, okay, there are things that I can do outside of here that will help my back versus just relying on you to do the work. And I said, and it explains to patients, this is a collaboration, this isn’t all about me solving your problem. Because if you do things outside of here that are aggravating the problem, how you’re going to get better, you’re just going to rely on me treating you regularly. And that’s not what we want.

Jacob Steyn 20:38
And isn’t it amazing how you sometimes see after that first treatment, then coming back to the second treatment, just with those basic tips, those are the basic advice, you’ve given them with their sitting posture, how to get out of bed, maybe the soldier stance position, you know, ways where you can minimize pressure through the back, you know, going for the walk in the morning, and then come back and like that, you can see that there’s just a change in their faces, they, they’ve come to a realization that what they’ve been doing has been massively in the way of them getting better. It’s

Ben James 21:10
a very long time, huge, huge, huge impact, you know, staggering impact in many cases. And, you know, so it takes more work than others, because you really got to train them on that movement and correct that movement consistently. And, of course, the frustrating ones that get the ones that get better quite quickly, and then just stop doing it. And then they come back and say, Oh, it’s it’s a nightmare. It’s terrible. Anything. Okay. And they, you know, they’ve just stopped doing it. But he was very, very pleased. And, and the key for me takeaway was that after 30 years, he just hadn’t been educated on some very, very simple things that he could do every day that cumulatively will help him manage his battery forever, not just because he’s suffering now, but forever. And talking about bracing. And as well, he was going to the gym, he sees a PT, very little focus on abdominal work on core work. And when he was doing, he was doing a lot of situps, that was a common exercise for him. So often would train more so in the morning, and he would do sit up. So that was certainly not helping. So we, we cut that straightaway.

Jacob Steyn 22:23
Got into a more maybe more complex movements in the gym. Yeah, we were just a lot of the times. Yeah,

Ben James 22:29
yeah. And we just started to talk about introducing a core workout that he could adopt into his lifestyle into his training habits that would, would give him focus and build resilience, but also, as we know, build that stiffness that ultimately, will contribute to better execution of exercises in other areas, whether that be a chest press, or whatever it is for us to do it. And that you know, that stiffness, that that real control, and the locking down of the lats and the chest, on the core gives you a huge sense of, of a kind of power and control in my experience. And when you get patients to do it, they really, really see the difference, and they feel feel much more resilient and far less vulnerable. And that’s hugely rewarding when they, when they, you know, when they really when they get it.

Jacob Steyn 23:28
So that was the second treatment. And then that was

Ben James 23:31
just on the first when it came back on the second day already better, you just immediately better, very simple stuff that cumulatively are done for around four days, already had it, you know, felt an impact, still a bit of stiffness, but it just wasn’t feeling the same levels of pain. And it was all due to that, that awareness of posture and keep a neutral spine. And,

Jacob Steyn 23:54
Ben, can we say that? You know, just for people, for the listeners, just to get perspective here. The there’s almost no way that he would be better by the second treatment. I mean, he would have some improvement, but for a chronic injury like that, and tissue damage that’s been, you know, have been going on for a long time. You need time to recover. So it’s gonna take weeks to a few months. Yeah, for for recovery. Can we say that? Yeah.

Ben James 24:20
In general terms, there’s no doubt you know, it does take time. And there’s no doubt you’re still suffering, you know, some discomfort but the, the, I think a lot of it was the reassurance he’d gotten the guidance he’d got that he’d never experienced, but just that cumulative load on his back from sitting a lot at a desk was just minimized and was just giving him immediate relief alongside some pro lying just lying on the tummy. Letting that back relax to the floor and just taking a bit of pressure off the muscles in the low back just had a profound effect on him. And just, it was You could tell he was going to be the kind of patient that was just absolutely going to stick to those, you know, stick to the plan in terms of adopting those things. He wanted to get better. Exactly. He was motivated to get better. Yeah. 100% Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And so on the Saturday progressivement. So on the second visit, we we, we did do some manipulative work, particularly through the mid thoracic, he was very stiff through that area, we wanted to loosen that off and, and he was in the background getting a bit of tightness in the thoracic, a little bit of neck pain, again, a lot of laptop work. So not directly necessarily related to the the low back, but certainly we want to look holistically with patients and, and look at optimizing musculoskeletal health as well as other areas of health with the advice that we give. So we did some manipulation, where we did some soft tissue work, but very much then focused on the the McGill, big three, the modified setup, the side plank, the bird dog, but really spent some time coaching on that. And it was quite obvious on the one side, particularly with the bird dog, he was far more stable than on the other, he definitely drifted off to the side when he was trying to extend one leg. So there was definitely that side to side, side to side difference. And so we really spent some time on, on coaching those exercises, did some soft tissue work did some manipulative work. But again, just reiterated, keep doing the daily spine hygiene, keep doing, practicing neutral spine, keep practicing the bracing technique just keep practicing those fundamental things that cumulatively over a lifetime will give you a better, healthier back. And then from there, we’ve probably only seen him around around eight times in a in a in a few months now. But within the fourth session, you know, 90 95% better. And again, a lot of that was just taking the load out that back cumulatively, but what I recently saw him is he was certain how long

Jacob Steyn 27:05
sorry, God, how long was it till the fourth till the fourth treatment, we

Ben James 27:10
were seeing him in this case, we will sort of once a week, we weren’t being super intense. So I saw him as a consultation. I saw him around four days later, three, four days later, for his first treatment. And then we had a session a week after that for for for cumulatively of over four weeks. And then we just kind of started to increase the gap because I was pretty confident that I didn’t need to be any more in intense with him than that. But now we’re you know, we’re a couple of months later. And and his message to me, when he last saw me was my back has been the best it’s been now than it has been in 2530 years. And that is, you know, very, very, very positive outcome to what has been pretty simple advice I give to everybody. And how much did the hands on treatment have an impact? I’m sure that there was some benefit there in just reducing that that little bit of stiffness in the low back. No doubt it helped with the thoracic spine and neck. You know, I think there’s, there’s a lot more benefit to that treatment up in that area, particularly when someone’s a laptop and things all day and got tightness through the traps. But when it comes to the lower back, the active base stuff, the daily spine hygiene is so so much more important, in my opinion. And cumulatively being consistent being very kind of not strict with it. We didn’t want to make him fear moving and bending through the backward designed to move, but just limiting it just controlling it just being consistent with it has had a profound effect. Because

Jacob Steyn 28:50
when you’re very happy. Yeah. Because when you limit it, I mean, that’s great. I just wanna say that’s great to hear the the more success that you’ve had, obviously, with someone who really wanted to get better and followed your program that allowed you to really guide them, because it’s really like you said, it’s a cooperation of your guidance and someone who’s ready to take responsibility. And then you have you have an amazing outcome Generally,

Ben James 29:18
yes,

Jacob Steyn 29:19
but yeah, so I yeah, I just I just think that’s a great message to what a lot of people because I have to say it’s not always that simple. Sometimes it’s a bit more complicated or sometimes there’s some nerve tension or maybe there’s some degeneration, there can be some other aspects that’s making it more complicated. You may need more time or may may need more intervention, you may need more, more passive treatment, but from you know, just it just, it just shows how someone who’s had pain and this can On foot for so many years, with very basic knowledge, but very essential, essential knowledge can get so much better. So quickly because it was once a week, four weeks, and it was 95%. Better. Yeah. I mean, that’s a great message to exactly that added to a lot of people who are, yeah, go for it.

Ben James 30:21
No, I was I was just gonna say, that was, you know, when we discussed it the reason behind discussing this case, because is that common? No. But does that give you a sense of the impact of some of the simple stuff? Yes, and, and for those that are really suffering have been suffering for a long time, even if, you know, after that short period of time, you could be 20 25% better, you know, that’s a hell of an improvement. But it’s the cumulative effect of doing things that that in those cases, will have an impact. And it’s been patient, because I’ve got a lady that’s, that’s coming recently who very acute disc, and I said, Look, you know, we could be looking at a good six weeks to really get this inflammation down and get things settled. And, and there’s a danger there that, that you almost put the patient off a little bit, because they want more of an impact more quickly. And like I said, we’re not expecting you to be in this amount of pain for that long, but you’ve got to give it the time to settle. Because unless you do that, then when does the problem come back? Or when could it progress, we need you to be, you know, to be to be better for good. And that involves just good management, patience, and persistence and commitment. And also,

Jacob Steyn 31:42
from your side, if you speak to someone like that, just to get them down, where they very acutely inflamed in the first phase, to a point where you can really work with them if you’re honest. And obviously you come across as someone who knows what you’re talking about from your experience. People will, people will go with it. If you tell them it’s going to take six weeks just to get the inflammation down. And but that’s that’s the honesty that you come with the sincerity and people, they they feel that they go with it. And if they go with it, you’ve got someone that you can work with. And generally we get a good outcome, don’t we? Yeah.

Ben James 32:21
100%? We do? We do? Yeah, we do. And and is

Jacob Steyn 32:26
there anything else you want to add here, Ben? Or no, I

Ben James 32:29
think, shall we, I think I think we’re in a good place to close, I think, you know, the take home really was that, you know, if you are suffering and it’s been a long period of time, then you reflect on what what treatment and advice you’re getting, because there were some very simple things that were missing from a number of practitioners for a long period of time that have clearly had a big impact. So don’t just don’t just accept what you’re getting. If you’re not doing the active work, if you’re not doing the daily spine hygiene stuff. If you haven’t been on educated on that, then then somebody’s missed something. And and you need it, and you need it. So you should always be educated, that should be a part of the practitioners role to educate you and give you the confidence that you can do a lot of things yourself. And he definitely definitely was grateful for that. There’s no doubt

Jacob Steyn 33:26
I can’t agree more. Absolutely. Yeah. Thank you, Ben. No, you’re welcome. Thanks for the case and and head over to our website. Have a look. Listen to our other episodes. And we’ll we’ll be coming with some more recordings. Yeah,

Ben James 33:41
take a look at our free ebook. Take a look at the information. Get in touch if you need it.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai