Chronic low back pain impacts so many people, making even the simplest of tasks—like washing dishes, walking the dog, or driving—painful or sometimes impossible. And often, the pain sticks around long after the injury has physically healed. So, what’s really going on?

Doctors and researchers are left puzzled when they can’t find any physical issues causing the pain. How do you treat something that’s no longer physically there, but still causing stress and agony?

What’s often even more confusing to sooooo many…is thinking that our structure issues is ALWAYS the cause of your injury. (SEE PHOTO BELOW)

Here’s the truth: many times, the root of chronic pain isn’t the body at all—it’s emotions we’ve buried deep down, often tied to past trauma.

In fact, a recent study done by UCLA Health and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs found something incredible. When patients were guided to dive into their past and confront repressed emotions, the results were life-changing.

So, what’s the connection between physical pain and those painful emotions?

Many of us carry unresolved feelings, whether from trauma, stress, or difficult situations, and these emotions don’t just sit in our heads—they live in our bodies too. Over time, this emotional baggage can make its way into how our body feels, intensifying pain or causing it altogether.

One approach, called Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET), is designed to get to the heart of this mind-body connection. In the study, veterans who went through EAET saw a massive reduction in their chronic pain—63% of them experienced a 30% decrease in pain, compared to only 17% who tried Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

So, what’s the difference? While CBT helps people manage or cope with pain, EAET dives deeper by helping people feel and express long-repressed emotions, like anger, grief, or guilt, and then let them go. By facing those emotions, we can release the tension they’ve created in our bodies.

It’s like this: when we hold back emotions, our bodies tense up, like being in a constant state of stress. That stress doesn’t just affect our mood; it affects everything—our sleep, our energy, and even how much pain we feel.

By focusing on these repressed emotions, bringing them to the surface, and finally letting them go, we can allow our bodies to relax and heal. This emotional release frees up energy, reduces stress, and opens up the door for physical healing too.

You don’t need a therapist, you won’t have to talk/relive those traumatic, nor do you even have to remember what happened to start this healing journey. Through self-awareness, mindful practices, and breathwork, we can start tuning into our emotions, noticing where they show up in our bodies, and begin to gently release them.

If you’ve been carrying old trauma or feel like emotions might be adding to your pain, you’re not alone. Healing is possible—starting from within. This is the heart of the work I do, helping you uncover and release what’s been holding you back, so you can live with more freedom, joy, and ease in both mind and body.

This study looked at how often signs of spine aging, like disk wear and tear, show up on scans of people who don’t have back pain. The results showed that things like disk degeneration and bulging disks are common, even in people without symptoms, and these changes become more frequent as people get older. This suggests that many of these spine changes are a normal part of aging and might not be the cause of back pain.