I know everyone is using this post to shill their favorite back pain "cure". I could do the same (it would be Jefferson curls) but since there’s already a flood of suggestions, I’ll try a different approach that might help you find your own way to deal with your back pain.
Let's think about this logically: A healthy organism will adapt to the stimulus it receives from its environment.
So, if you have back pain (or any other joint pain) that leaves two main possibilities.
Option A: You are not currently a healthy organism in this specific context. You might have received an acute injury that needs proper healing before you can adapt. Or you might have an underlying condition that needs to be addressed. In either case, your first step should be to seek out a qualified individual to help you deal with your specific issue.
Option B (this is the majority): The stimulus from your environment is leading to unhelpful adaptations. Your body is adapting, just in the wrong way. There are two classic examples:
The Desk Worker: You’re sitting 40+ hours a week. Your back muscles aren’t being challenged through their full range of motion. Your body adapts to what you do—so it “decides” maintaining robust support for your spine isn’t a priority. You don't necessarily atrophy overnight, but you lose strength, endurance, and the neurological "skill" of using those muscles well. When you finally do move, your under-prepared system is more easily stressed.
The Shelf Stocker: You’re moving your back for hours every day. Shouldn’t you be super-adapted? Not necessarily. The body adapts to specific demands. Constant, all-day bending under load is less like training and more like a repeated strain. Your body spends all its resources on recovery from the strain, with little left over for positive adaptation (like building stronger, more resilient tissue). It’s like trying to run a marathon every single day—even elite runners don’t do that, because they’d break down. Their training uses varied, managed doses.
So what does this mean if Option B applies to you? You need to change the stimulus to promote positive adaptation. For most, this means carefully introducing your back to a higher force for a short period, followed by proper recovery. This is the cycle that builds resilience.
In practice:
This is easiest in a gym. You can precisely control the weight (dose) and movement pattern (quality), progressing slowly. But the principle applies to moving any heavy object.
The goal isn't just to get "stronger" in one position, but to train controlled movement through a range of motion.
And remember, "changing your environment" also means breaking up long periods of sitting and finding ways to vary or reduce repetitive strain.
So yeah, take agency. Modify your environment and your habits to give your body a stimulus it can productively adapt to. But listen to your body—smart training is a dialogue, not a monologue.
