I Wish Someone Had Told Me This Before My First Back Surgery
The biggest mistake I made wasn't having surgery - it was believing my spine was the whole story.
If I could go back and talk to my 17-year-old self before my first back surgery, I wouldn't necessarily tell her not to have surgery.
Sometimes surgery is appropriate.
What I would tell her is this:
Your spine is only one piece of the picture.
That single idea would have saved me years of frustration.
After surgery, I thought success depended entirely on my back healing.
So every setback felt like proof that something in my spine had gotten worse.
But over time I realized something surprising.
My pain wasn't only responding to structural changes.
It was responding to how my whole body was functioning.
Nobody ever asked me questions like:
How stable is your blood sugar?
Could food reactions be increasing inflammation?
Are you recovering well?
Is your nervous system constantly stuck in "go"?
Those questions came years later.
Looking back, I wish someone had encouraged me to explore those possibilities much sooner.
Not because they would have erased my surgeries.
But because they may have helped reduce the frequency of the flare-ups that followed.
That's one of the reasons I became a Functional Nutrition Counselor.
I wanted to understand why pain sometimes persists even when imaging doesn't fully explain it.
And I wanted to help other people start asking those questions earlier than I did.
I'm not suggesting everyone has the same answers.
But if your back pain keeps coming back despite doing everything you've been told...
There may be more pieces to your story.
What if you're missing part of the puzzle?
If your back pain keeps coming back and you've been told everything looks "normal"—or you've tried everything you can think of—it may be time to start asking different questions.
That's exactly why I created my free guide:
7 Hidden Reasons Your Back Pain Keeps Flaring Up (Even When You're Doing Everything "Right")
It may help you discover a few places to start looking.
If this resonates with you, follow along on Instagram at @alera_functional_health where I share more root-cause health and inflammation support strategies.
You can also get a copy of my guide: 7 Hidden Reasons Your Back Pain Keeps Flaring Up (Even When You’re Doing Everything “Right”).
If you’d like a personalized plan that fits your life and helps you feel your best, I’m here to help. Interested in learning more about how you can optimize your health and finally find relief from your symptoms? Schedule a free Discovery Call with me by clicking here.
About The Author
Erin Briley is a Certified Functional Nutrition Coach who helps individuals understand their bodies and pursue sustainable, root-cause healing. She guides clients in making sense of their symptoms and identifying the deeper factors influencing their health. Her own recovery from chronic pain through functional nutrition strengthened her belief in the power of personalized lifestyle changes. As a mom of three in competitive travel sports, she focuses on simple, realistic habits that help people boost energy, improve digestion, reduce inflammation, and feel confident in their ability to thrive.
