I used to be professional athlete playing ice hockey. Throughout my career, I dealt with persistent back pain that nagged me for years getting worse by the year. During the 1990s and 2000s, it was so severe that it dominated my life. For over 15 years. I tried every treatment available: physical therapy, massages, chiropractor, acupuncture, and even resorted to taking over 10,000 Oxycodone pills. I underwent three major back surgeries, but none of these interventions provided relief. Instead, they left me feeling even worse. The pain persisted, and I became dependent on painkillers.

For the last two years of that period, my condition deteriorated to the point where I could barely walk. The pain was so unbearable that I spent most of my days lying on the sofa, unable to function.

After my final surgery, while the staples were still in my back, I decided to take a closer look at them. Standing in front of a full-length mirror with a second mirror in hand, I examined my back. At first, my attention was on the staples, but then my focus shifted. I noticed something about my back—something I had never seen before. Strangely, no one had ever pointed it out to me, and I couldn’t understand how I hadn’t noticed it earlier.

Uncovering The Problem
The imbalance in my back and core muscles was staggering, and I could see it just by looking in the mirror. The right side of my back was almost devoid of muscle, while the left side was significantly stronger. My pelvis was tilted—left side higher and the right rotated forward—explaining the slight limp I’d had most of my life. My spine had an S-curve, and one of my shoulders was visibly lower than the other. I am sure many people can find themselves on similar situation.