Where Is My Back Pain Coming From? A Simple 10 Second Self-Test
If you've been stretching your back, strengthening your core, trying new pillows, or even getting massages—but your back pain keeps coming back—there's a good chance you've been focusing on the wrong problem.
One of the biggest misconceptions about back pain is that the pain itself tells you where the problem is. In reality, the area that hurts is often the area that's working the hardest to compensate for something else that isn't functioning well.
That's why so many people experience temporary relief from treatments that target the back itself, only to have the pain return days or weeks later. If the underlying cause isn't addressed, your body will continue to rely on the same compensation patterns that created the pain in the first place.
Here's a simple self-test that may reveal what's actually driving your pain.
10 Second Self-Test for Back Pain
Take one slow, comfortable breath in.
Now ask yourself:
Did your ribs widen out to the sides?
Or did your belly push forward?
If your belly expanded but your ribs barely moved, you've just uncovered one of the most common reasons back pain doesn't go away.
It may sound surprising, but the way you breathe has a direct impact on how much stress your spine experiences throughout the day.
How Breathing Affects Your Back Pain
Your core isn't just your abdominal muscles. It's everything except your arms and legs, functioning as one integrated pressure system with multiple pressure chambers that work together every time you breathe.
Every inhale changes the pressure inside your body.
The question isn't whether pressure changes.
It's where that pressure goes.
When your rib cage expands in all directions during an inhale, your diaphragm widens and your thorax creates space to accommodate that increase in pressure. Instead of pressure being forced downward into your abdomen, it is absorbed and redistributed throughout your rib cage the way it was designed to be. These breathing mechanics keep your organs lifted and centered, your waist naturally narrow, and your spine supported with every breath you take.
Think of your diaphragm like an umbrella.
Most people imagine the diaphragm only moving up and down with breathing, but they're missing its most important direction—outward.
During a healthy inhale, your diaphragm doesn't simply collapse downward into a hammock shape. It broadens and opens, changing from an umbrella shape toward a wide, dinner-plate shape as your ribs expand around it. This lateral expansion allows pressure to be absorbed and distributed throughout your rib cage instead of being concentrated downward onto your abdominal organs, pelvic floor, and lower back.
But many people lose this rib cage mobility.
Instead of the inhale expanding the rib cage, every breath pushes the belly forward. The abdomen becomes the path of least resistance. Rather than being distributed throughout the rib cage, pressure is repeatedly directed downward into the abdominal and pelvic cavities.
Over the course of roughly 20,000 breaths every day, this pressure pattern begins to matter.
Your abdominal wall starts to bulge forward. Your organs experience greater downward pressure and gradually lose their optimal position. Your deep core myofascial system loses its ability to provide reflexive spinal support. Instead of your spine being stabilized from the inside, it becomes stabilized from the outside by muscle contraction.
Your back muscles step in to do a job they were never designed to do. They tighten. They brace. They work overtime trying to create stability that should have been provided automatically by your body's pressure system. Over time, this constant compensation contributes to stiffness, muscle fatigue, spinal compression, and persistent low back pain.
The pain isn't necessarily coming from weak back muscles.
It's often a sign that your body has lost its ability to manage pressure efficiently with every breath.
That's why stretching your back, strengthening your core, or massaging tight muscles often provides only temporary relief. If every inhale continues directing pressure downward into the abdomen instead of distributing it throughout the rib cage, the same compensation pattern repeats thousands of times every day.
Healing doesn't begin by treating your back.
It begins by changing where every breath sends pressure.
When your rib cage regains its ability to expand, your diaphragm widens, your pressure system begins functioning the way it was designed to, your organs receive better support, and your spine no longer has to rely on your back muscles to create stability.
Because every breath is either reinforcing the problem… or becoming part of the solution.
Your Back May Not Be the Problem
This is why so many people spend months—or even years—trying to "fix" their back without ever finding lasting relief.
They stretch tight muscles. They do traditional “core work” to “strengthen their core”. They foam roll. They get massages. They adjust their posture. Sometimes these treatments feel wonderful. They reduce tension, improve mobility, and temporarily calm irritated tissues.
But then the pain comes back.
Not because these treatments are wrong, but because they're treating the place that hurts instead of the system that created the overload.
If every inhale continues directing pressure downward into your abdomen instead of distributing it throughout your rib cage, your body simply recreates the same compensation pattern. Your back muscles tighten again. Your spine loses stability again. The pain returns.
The issue was never just your back. It was the way your body has been managing pressure all along. Think about it...
You take roughly 20,000 breaths every single day.
That means your body has approximately 20,000 opportunities every day to reinforce dysfunction—or 20,000 opportunities to heal.
Every breath is teaching your nervous system a movement pattern.
Every breath is either increasing the load on your spine or helping support it.
Every breath is either reinforcing the compensation... or restoring the system.
When you change where pressure goes, you change how your body supports your spine. And that's when your back finally gets the opportunity to stop compensating—and start healing.
Back Pain Is Often a Pressure Problem
Back pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal conditions in the world, affecting nearly 8 out of 10 people at some point in their lives.
It can present as:
- Low back pain
- Mid-back pain
- Neck pain
- SI joint pain
- Tailbone pain
- Sacral pain
- Sciatica
- Disc-related pain
There are many reasons someone may experience back pain, including previous injuries, prolonged sitting, repetitive movements, stress, athletic activities, hydration, inflammation, digestive health, and posture.
But after treating thousands of people over the past 16 years, I've found one common thread that is almost always overlooked:
How your body manages pressure.
When your pressure system isn't functioning well, the effects extend far beyond your muscles. Your spine gradually loses the internal support it should be receiving with every breath.
Instead of being stabilized from the inside by your body's pressure system (aka breathing mechanics), it becomes stabilized from the outside by muscle contraction.
Your back muscles begin working overtime to create stability that should have been provided automatically by your breathing mechanics and deep core myofascial system.
As this compensation continues, the spaces between your vertebrae become more compressed, increasing the mechanical load placed on your discs, joints, ligaments, and surrounding connective tissues. Blood flow becomes less efficient. Nerves lose some of their ability to glide freely. Movement becomes more restricted.
Your body responds exactly as it was designed to. It creates stiffness. It creates muscle guarding. It creates pain. Not because your body is broken… But because it's trying to protect a spine that is no longer well supported by your breathing mechanics.
This is why so many people spend years treating the muscles that hurt without ever addressing the pressure system creating the overload.
The question isn't: "Why does my back hurt?"
The question is: "Why does my body feel the need to protect my back?"
Because pain is your body's protection strategy—not the problem itself.
When we restore breathing mechanics, reflexive core myofascial function, and healthy pressure management, your spine begins receiving the internal support it was designed to have. Your back muscles no longer need to brace every movement, compression decreases, movement becomes easier, and pain begins to resolve naturally.
Because back pain is often much more than a muscle problem.
It's a pressure management problem.
How to Restore Your Body's Natural Support System
If poor pressure management contributes to your back pain, the solution isn't simply stretching your back more or strengthening the muscles that hurt. The solution is restoring the system that was designed to support your spine in the first place.
Everything I teach follows this sequence:
Breath → Core Myofascial Reflex → Pressure Management → Internal Support → Optimal Function
When your breathing mechanics improve, everything downstream begins to change. Your rib cage regains its ability to expand with every inhale. Your diaphragm widens and distributes pressure throughout your thorax instead of directing it downward into your abdomen and spine. Your deep core myofascial system begins functioning reflexively again, supporting your spine the way it was designed to. Your organs receive better support. Your back muscles no longer have to brace every movement. Your spine becomes more stable from the inside out.
And because your body is no longer relying on constant muscular compensation, many people notice less stiffness, less fatigue, easier movement, and significant improvements in back pain.
This is exactly what we restore inside The Core Recovery Method®. Rather than chasing painful muscles or treating symptoms one at a time, you'll learn how to restore healthy breathing mechanics, retrain your Core Myofascial Reflex, improve pressure management, and rebuild your body's natural support system with every breath you take.
In fact, one of the very first lessons inside the program is a simple breathing technique that begins retraining this pattern in just two breaths. It seems almost too simple.
But when you realize you breathe approximately 20,000 times every day, those two breaths become the first of thousands that begin teaching your body a new pattern.
Because every breath is either reinforcing the problem...or becoming part of the solution.
Here's what my client Kristine shared after restoring her body's natural support system:
"Working with Dr. Angie has been life changing. After experiencing on-and-off SI joint pain for 15 years—and chronic SI joint pain for the last 2–3 years—I am thrilled to be pain free and feeling stronger than I have in 10 years!
I started with The Core Recovery Method®, practicing the breathing techniques and trigger point release. After just three months of reduced pain, I decided to schedule virtual 1:1 sessions with Dr. Angie. She analyzed my breathing mechanics and prescribed strengthening exercises that involved my entire body, all while maintaining proper spinal alignment and pressure management.
Before The Core Recovery Method®, my SI joint pain limited so many of the activities I loved. Now I feel stronger, more confident, and move better than I have in years. Thank you, Dr. Angie, for your kindness, encouragement, and for teaching me how the body was truly designed to function."
- Kristine, Mother of 2, Physical Therapist
A Better Way to Heal From Back Pain
If your self-test revealed that your belly pushes forward while your ribs barely move when you inhale, don't ignore it. That simple breathing pattern may be one of the biggest clues to why your back continues to hurt.
The good news? Your breathing patterns can change.
And when your breathing changes, everything downstream begins to change too. Your Core Myofascial Reflex improves. Your body begins managing pressure the way it was designed to. Your organs receive better support. Your spine becomes more stable. Your back muscles no longer have to brace every movement.
This is why I don't start by treating back pain.
I start by restoring The Core Recovery Sequence™:
Breath → Core Myofascial Reflex → Pressure Management → Internal Support → Optimal Function
Because when your body regains its natural support system, pain often becomes unnecessary. This is exactly what I teach insideThe Core Recovery Method®. You'll learn how to restore healthy breathing mechanics, retrain your body's reflexive support system, and create lasting spinal stability with every breath you take—not just during exercise, but throughout your entire day.
You don't have to spend the rest of your life stretching tight muscles, relying on pain medication, or wondering why your back keeps hurting. Your body isn't broken. It's simply adapted to a pressure pattern that no longer serves it. And the beautiful thing about patterns? They can be changed.
When you change the way your body breathes, you change the way it supports your spine.
And when you change the way your body supports your spine… Everything changes.
If you're ready to stop chasing symptoms and start restoring the system that supports your entire body, I'd love to guide you inside The Core Recovery Method®.
Because every breath is either reinforcing the problem...or becoming part of the solution. 🤍
