This is NPR's Life Kit. I'm Frank Fester.

When I was in college, I was a bit of an ego lifter,

meaning that I'd go to the gym, try to throw on the heaviest weights I could,

way more concerned with looking cool than my health and wellness.

That strategy worked out real well for me.

I ended up getting a gnarly, herniated deadlifting

that created near-constant chronic pain that was sometimes debilitating.

At 22, the only thing on my mind was getting back to normal life.

So when a doctor told me that surgery could swiftly return me to normal,

I said, say less and opted for the procedure.

Unfortunately, it didn't.

I actually ended up with pain that got worse instead of better,

coming and going for the next two years.

Eventually, the only thing that resolved my chronic pain was physical therapy

in a homemade stretching routine that I'm still following today.

I can't be mad at 22-year-old Frank for going under the knife,

because at that time, I kind of thought that was the only option.

When it comes to back pain,

the idea of surgery is not that far-fetched quote-unquote.

But when it comes to, let's say, dental health,

when would you go see a dental surgeon?

That's not really one of the first options.

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