Across 42 years as an orthopaedic therapist I have worked with the whole range, from someone who comes in with a tweaky back to someone whose pain has taken over their life. The second group is careful about how they sit, how they sleep and what they pick up, and they have quietly stopped doing things they used to do without thinking.

I have done the courses over the years, and I hold more certifications than fit on a business card. What the years in the room taught me is that backs are tougher than most people have been led to believe, and that people recover further than they were told they would.

A great many people I have seen were told to rest in bed until the pain settled. Others were told their disc was degenerating, or had slipped, and that this was the cause of everything. Some were told never to bend or lift again.

By the time they sit down with me they are frightened of their own spine, and that fear has become its own problem. I have heard and seen more useless advice and downright dangerous treatments than I can say, and it leaves people confused about a part of their body they have to live in every day.

This site is about what actually helps with low back pain, sciatica and the pain that turns up when you sit too long or when you cough. I write about what to do, how much of it to do, and what to leave alone. I give you the reason behind each thing, because a list of stretches with no explanation is a list you will drop. Some of what helps is boring, which is why so few people stick with it.

I also tell you what to avoid, including the advice that put the fear in you to begin with. I don't sell supplements or miracle cures, and I'm not a fan of scare tactics. The point of all of it is for you to get on with your life and stop organising it around your back.

Most people who read this are in their thirties to sixties and have had back pain coming and going for a while. Many have already paid to see a therapist, a chiropractor or a doctor. Some improved and then relapsed. Others were handed a set of exercises that did not work, with nobody explaining what to do next.

If you want to know what to do, what to stop, and how to tell which is which, you are in the right place. Read the posts, use what fits your back, and come back when something changes.

Nothing on this site replaces someone actually looking at your back. What it can do is give you a clearer idea of what is worth your time, so the next conversation you have about your back is a better one.