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How 12 Years of Back Pain Taught Me to Heal My Own Spine

Published January 2nd, 2026 by Dr. Jeremiah Jimerson

Most people assume chiropractors never hurt their backs. I wish that were true.

In my first semester of chiropractic school, I herniated a disc so badly I couldn’t sit for exams.

After finals, I literally crawled around my apartment for two weeks.

For the next 12 years I lived in the pain world — daily adjustments, hours of stretching, acupuncture, lasers, cryotherapy — you name it.

Each thing felt good… temporarily. None of it solved the problem.

I realized I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life managing pain. I wanted to understand it.

Why did my back keep failing, even though I was doing everything “right”?

That question drove me to study the body as one integrated system — fascia, nerves, breath, and load.

I discovered my spine wasn’t weak; it just didn’t feel protected.

My deep stabilizers weren’t doing their job, so my bigger back muscles were stuck on permanent overtime.

Once I retrained my core — the 360° corset of muscles around the spine — everything changed.

The spasms stopped. The stiffness disappeared.

I could lift, twist, run, and pick up my kids again without thinking about my back.

Today, I haven’t had a single flare-up in years.

If you’re reading this with chronic back pain, know this: your back isn’t broken.

It’s overworked and under-supported.

When you rebuild the system — the core, the fascia, the breath, and the nervous system — the back finally relaxes.

That’s the same approach I now use with patients every day.