Understanding setbacks - why relapses are part of the healing process

Written by Mathieu Stremsdoerfer, CEO and Co-Founder at Healactively

Healing is not a straight line. And that’s not a failure, it’s biology.

One of the most frustrating parts of recovering from back pain is the sudden return of discomfort after a period of progress. You were moving better, feeling stronger and then pain comes back. The instinct is to panic, blame yourself, or think you're back to square one.

But here’s the truth: setbacks are not signs that you’re broken. They’re signs that you’re human.
Recovery is a long-term process that includes ups and downs. The key is not to avoid every setback it’s to understand them and keep moving forward.

Why setbacks happen

Back pain recovery is driven by adaptation. Your body is learning new ways to move, stabilize, and load itself. That learning process is rarely smooth.

Common causes of setbacks:

• A new activity your body wasn’t fully ready for

• Overtraining or moving too fast without recovery

• Mental or emotional stress triggering muscle tension

• Poor sleep or fatigue increasing pain sensitivity

• Reverting to old movement habits without noticing

These moments don’t erase your progress, they highlight areas that still need support.

The danger of the all-or-nothing mindset

Many people fall into a binary pattern:
"I'm either healing or I'm failing."
This thinking leads to frustration, fear, and in some cases, giving up entirely.

Setbacks aren’t a reset button. They’re part of the path.
What matters is how you respond.

• Do you slow down or stop completely?

• Do you blame your body?

• Or do you adapt, learn, and keep showing up?

Healing requires consistency, not perfection.

How to navigate a flare-up

When a setback happens, respond with intention—not panic.

Here’s what to do:

• Pause, don’t panic: Recognise it’s a flare, not a failure.

• Reduce load temporarily: Scale back movement intensity or volume—but don’t stop completely.

• Focus on the basics: Breathe well, walk daily, and return to gentle core work.

• Reflect on the trigger: Was it stress? Overload? Poor posture during a long day?

• Adjust your plan, not your goals: Healing is still the destination, you’re just choosing a different route.

Every time you handle a setback with awareness, your nervous system learns to feel safe again. And that reduces pain over time.

Healactively’s view on setbacks

At Healactively, we treat setbacks as a normal part of the recovery timeline.
We teach you how to respond to them, not fear them.
Because pain returning doesn’t mean you’re going backward—it means your system is still learning.

Our method gives you:

• Flexible movement strategies

• Tools to handle flare-ups

• Confidence to stay consistent

• The mindset to keep going—no matter what

Ready to build a recovery that survives setbacks?
Join Healactively today—where healing is a journey, not a test.