Talk it through with the SI guide

A fused spine, and compressed, dehydrated fascia that was missed in two countries. James has spent years learning to read his own body again. This guide speaks in his words. It is not James, and it is not a person. Read more about James

Nobody taught most of us how a back actually carries a working life. We were assumed to know.

Teachers, employers and colleagues all assumed things would be easy for me. Every one of those assumptions was wrong. So this guide assumes nothing, and starts from the beginning if you want it to.

Somewhere to describe what your back is doing, precisely enough to be useful to you or a professional. It does not diagnose or treat.

A back is rarely only a back. It carries the chair, the stress, the drive and the years before anyone noticed. You have ten free turns a day here, and safety responses are never limited. Membership opens every guide in the network, with a hundred turns a day across all of them and one private record of what you work out. See what membership includes

James is not a medical professional. The content is for informational and self-experimentation purposes only. You are speaking with an SI guide, not James replying live. It can help you put what you notice into words and consider a next sensible question. It cannot diagnose symptoms, identify anatomy, prescribe treatment, assess urgency, monitor you or provide emergency help.

If anything feels sharp, escalating, radiating, neurological, breathing-related, post-operative, traumatic or otherwise unexplained, stop and seek appropriate professional care. This also applies to any numbness in the groin or inner thigh, loss of bladder or bowel control, or pain following a fall or accident. Start gently.

The safety page lists where to go.