You bent down for a sock and something went. Or nothing went per se, but it always complains. Either way, you find yourself persistently moving like your back is made of glass.

Here’s something I learned that changed my perception and personal experience of chronic pain and has helped my clients to understand it too: Pain isn’t a simple readout of damage. It’s an alarm, and your brain decides how loud to ring it. A nervous system on high alert can keep ringing long after the tissue has done its healing. Movement starts to feel like a threat, so you do less, and everything tightens another notch.

Classical Pilates can help calm this loop. Slowly, with a lot of breath and attention, we practise movement your system can learn is safe. The spine moving in every direction. The deep postural muscles switching on when they should (research, including Paul Hodges’ work, has found that in many people with back pain they switch on late). The fascia, the web of connective tissue that wraps and links everything, getting properly loaded and moving again.

It’s not about fixing your back. It’s about retraining the body and the mind into better movement, better habits, and trust.

What I’m not: a physio. I’m a classical Pilates teacher who geeks out on the nervous system and movement. I don’t diagnose or treat. If your pain is new, or comes with numbness, weakness, or anything that worries you, see your GP or physio first. I’m very happy to work alongside them.

I teach one-to-one in Milland, near Liphook, Haslemere, Midhurst and Petersfield, or on Zoom.

• Can Pilates help with back pain? For many people, yes. Exercise is a first-line approach for persistent low back pain in UK guidance, and Pilates is one of the options studied. It isn’t a cure, and results vary.

• Are you a physio? No. I’m a classical Pilates teacher. I’ll ask about your history and, if needed, suggest you check with your GP or physio first.

• Do I need a referral? No. You fill in a short health form before we start.