"On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is a little and 10 is a lot, how would you rate the amount of pain in your lower back?" is a common question that I ask anyone who comes to me with lower back pain for the first time. The answer that saddens me most is "My pain level is about 5 or 6 but I have gotten used to it. As long as it's not 8 or 9, I'm happy..." If you think that way too, please do not let that become your norm. 5 or 6 is not normal and definitely nowhere near good enough! You deserve to have a healthy back. 

If someone tells you:

•  back pain is common and part of aging, don't accept it.
•  your back pain can be easily eliminated with surgery and you have not tried other means of recovery, don't believe it.
•  to start exercising more and your back pain will disappear, don't jump into it.
•  to do lots of core work and you will recover, don't count on it.
•  to go for massages or stretch a lot more, don't trust it. 

Lower back pain is your body's way of telling you that something is not right. The pain you experienced is meant to help you, becoming a hindrance to you moving more and risking a more serious injury. There are many reasons why you have pain hence it is very valuable to look into whether your spine is stable & supported in movement. Regardless of age, back pain has a reason for it and age is not the reason.

Surgery may solve your back pain temporarily because it addresses the symptom of your back pain but it never addresses the cause, possibly resulting in pain returning after a few years. The cause is the posture that you have, the way you move and how you handle loads common in everyday activities. Surgery is always the last resort.  

Exercising more can make your back pain better, but it can also make it a lot worst. Think of it this way, if you have misalignments in your body, exercising more can strengthen those misalignments. The key to overcoming back pain is in selecting the appropriate type of exercises for your body, how you do them and how much you do them. More doesn't mean better.

If your back pain is flexion-related (triggered by rounded back), the more front core work you do, the worst your back pain can become.

If the reason for your back pain is an inhibited spinal extensor (weak lower back), massaging or stretching can give you temporary relief for a few hours but create more back pain in the coming days. Strengthening it will be key. If however the reason for your back pain is a hypertonic spinal extensor (lower back that is too tight), strengthening can make it worst. Hence you got to know more about the cause of your back pain, not trust everything you hear.

In my last 18 years of teaching people with lower back pain, I realised that many of them did not understand how they can become resilient in their back, to get back on track. Even after seeing an Orthopaedic surgeon or a Physiotherapist, many of them still did not understand exactly what to do and why they need to do it. They did not know how to exercise safely on their own, did not do the exercises that they need to do correctly or did not have the confidence to take charge over their backs. 

I created Get Back On Track because I am passionate about helping people with lower back pain. I want my students to have movement confidence and competence, not the movement fear and avoidance that I come across a lot. You can take clear steps to improve how you move and build a resilient back. Don't turn your back to lower back pain. My mission in life is to teach and inspire people to make changes to improve their quality of life. Let me be part of your journey to take charge of your lower back pain now! 

Get Back On Track experiences

Practical & easy to implement daily

"I recently attended the 'Get Back On Track – A Slipped Disc Workshop' conducted by Jerry Teo. Many of us with disc problems tend to avoid any back exercises, resulting in the core becoming weak and back pain sets in. In this workshop, we learned the importance of having a balanced core and how to eventually work towards overcoming our fear and to develop confidence in our movement. It helps us identify whether its movement or fitness training we need and how to work within our own limits and not overloading them. The exercises taught and practiced were practical and easy to implement on a daily basis. I would highly recommended this workshop to those who has disc conditions, suffer from back pain and wants to know how to overcome it."

Kwang Hui

I have been waiting for a workshop like this

"I have been waiting for a workshop like this since sustaining disc herniation in 2015. Going for regular therapies does nor quite cut it for me. The workshop had helped me understand my condition and abilities so much more and the BIG 3 will form the basis of my fitness regime going forward to achieve ‘movement confidence’. Thank you Jerry and team. I have gained so much more awareness since the workshop and will not hesitate to recommend anyone in need of this workshop."

Patsy Lim

 The talk was very insightful 

"Being an avid gym goer, I did not realize the importance of needing to move well over increasing the load that I lift. Jerry is very engaging and the talk was very insightful and kept me wanting to know more. Hence, it made me feel the need to reach out to the knowledgeable team at PBT to start my training."

Aaron J

A MUST for all who has had lower back pain at any point in their lives.

"An afternoon well spent and well worth the travel time! When Applied Load is more than Tissue Tolerance, getting out of pain, reaching performance goals. Pain relief, strengthening moves to avoid back injuries, how to sit, stand, walk, etc…all in that 3hrs! Thank you Jerry for generously sharing all this knowledge! It is a MUST for all who has had lower back pain at any point in their lives."

Katherine Ong

I would recommend this session to anyone who has back issues – both diagnosed & undiagnosed

"It was an enjoyable session with Jerry, Dorcas, and Jasmine, as it was a good mix of practical and theoretical knowledge. There is a bit of a workout, and I found the Big 3 techniques useful for managing my back stiffness. I would recommend this session to anyone who has back issues – both diagnosed and undiagnosed – because you’ll learn how to break some bad habits and build new ones to improve your back."

Yvonne Chow

Definitely worth it going for the workshop

"I enjoyed the session Get Back on Track, a workshop for participants with back issues, with Jerry, Dorcas and Jasmine. The session reinforced that my physio sessions have put me on the right track, and in the workshop, I learned some new exercises, as well as focused on details of some well known ones. For example, everyone knows the bird dog moves, but Jerry and his team focused on the breathing as well as the fully stretched arms and legs, as in straight elbow and straight knee. These details took it up to another level. Definitely worth it going for the workshop."

Laura Liong

Learned the principles of a balanced core

"An afternoon well spent. Attended a Slipped Disc workshop by my favourite teacher Jerry of #pilatesbodytree and learned the principles of a balanced core and exercises to strengthen the necessary muscles to reduce pain. 👍👍👍"

Lee Mong Ling