When I moved to Austin for a tech job, I sat for eight to twelve hours a day, five to six days a week. I'd already dealt with knee pain by then, and had figured out how to resolve it (you can read that story here). What I hadn't solved was the stress my body was carrying from all that sitting, and it landed in my low back.
of adults experience low back pain at some point in their lifetime.
It's one of the most common reasons people miss work, and one of the least understood. Most of the time, there's no clear structural reason for it. The disc looks fine. The X-ray looks fine. The pain is real anyway.
I was managing my pain by inflicting more discomfort on myself, day after day, just to keep functioning.
For years, I kept my low back pain at bay the way most people in my field do: with regular massage and a foam roller. Ashiatsu barefoot massage was my anchor. I scheduled it like a non-negotiable appointment, because if I skipped too many sessions, the pain crept back. Foam rolling filled the gaps in between, sometimes once a day, sometimes twice, whatever it took to stay ahead of it.
It worked. But it also meant I was managing pain, not resolving it.
Then I found Applied Neurology.
Instead of treating my low back like a structural problem to keep beating into submission, Applied Neuro treats it like what it actually is: a signal from a nervous system trying to protect you. Brain-based drills target the systems sending those protective signals, not just the tissue that hurts.
Once I started doing the drills consistently, I stopped needing to foam roll just to keep the pain away.
Book NowI still keep regular Ashiatsu appointments. But not because I'm afraid of what happens if I skip one. I go because it feels good and supports the work I'm already doing with my nervous system, not because it's the only thing standing between me and pain.
If you're ready to stop managing your low back pain and start actually resolving it, a Therapeutic Massage session is a strong place to begin. If you want to combine bodywork with the brain-based approach that changed things for me, book a 2-hour Massage + Applied Neuro combo session.