Story · 2 min read · 24 Oct 2020
Daniel’s low back pain management story
Find out how Daniel has learnt to co-manage his musculoskeletal back pain through movement and changing his day to day behaviour.
By Prof Helen Slater
By Prof Helen Slater
Daniel is in his early 20’s and was on track to be an Australian leading light vehicle mechanic in the F1 or V8’s.
He hurt his back and struggled to get the support he needed at work. Career wise, what scared Daniel most, is that he didn’t want to lose his job. But the unhelpful work environment added more stress and compounded his pain and fears.
“The negativity from my work, I reckon made my back worse…I reckon workers see it as you’re just slacking and you’re a bludger, especially at a young age.”
Daniel made the decision to change work.
“More the mental game was the hardest…I felt really down…I got to a real low point.”
Daniel found new ways to reduce stress, using meditation and recreational ways to calm himself down…these strategies helped ease his pain and take his focus away from the back.
"More the mental game was the hardest... I felt really down... I got to a real low point."
Daniel
Daniel worked out how to communicate his feelings and needs, and use his self-belief to motivate his recovery, with guidance from a skillful health professional.
“I reckon self-belief and your own motivation…goals to get better are really good…to set little bench marks.”
“I reckon the injury the second time changed me more as a person…my whole mindset has changed. Now I want to help people because I’ve gone through it…I reckon this has changed me as a person…to boost my confidence up.”