u/SilverComfortable112

Hey everyone,

I'm 24M and work as an Assistant Director in the film industry. For the last 6 months, I've been dealing with lower back pain, and it has slowly gotten worse.

From April to June, I worked on five projects back-to-back. If anyone here works in film, you probably know how crazy the hours can get. As an AD, I'm standing, walking, and running around for 15+ hours a day, sometimes even longer depending on the call sheet. I never really thought much about it until the pain became unbearable.

About a month ago, I finally went to an orthopedic doctor. He said the muscles around my L5–S1 area have been under a lot of pressure. He told me to fix my posture, start physiotherapy regularly, and stay consistent with the exercises he prescribed.

After that, I tried understanding my condition better by researching and discussing what my doctor said with ChatGPT. From what I understood, it could be something like reduced lumbar lordosis (a straighter-than-normal lower back curve), but I'm not claiming that's my diagnosis—it's just what seemed to match my doctor's explanation.

The frustrating part is that the pain is inconsistent. Some days I can manage it, and other days it's so bad that I can't even sleep comfortably. It's starting to affect my mental health too because I'm only 24, and my job literally depends on being on my feet all day.

I'm doing what the doctor recommended, but I'm still scared. Has anyone here been through something similar? Did physiotherapy actually help? Were you able to get back to normal? Any advice, recovery stories, or even words of encouragement would mean a lot right now.

Thanks for reading. 🥹

I'm a 24M working as an Assistant Director in the film industry, and I've had lower back pain for the past 6 months that's gradually getting worse. From April to June, I worked on five back-to-back projects, standing and moving around for 15+ hours a day almost every day. I finally saw an orthopedic doctor, who said the muscles around my L5–S1 are under a lot of stress and advised me to fix my posture, do physiotherapy regularly, and stay consistent with exercises. From what I understood after researching, it might be reduced lumbar lordosis, but I'm not sure if that's my actual diagnosis. Some days the pain is manageable, while other days it's so bad I can't even sleep. I'm only 24, and my career depends on long hours on my feet, so this has me really worried. Has anyone experienced something similar? Did physiotherapy and exercise help? I'd really appreciate any advice or recovery stories.