Bonnie Ryckova, Joint Health

It starts with back pain and moves to your knee.
This isn’t random.

Many clients describe it like this:

It began in the lower back.
A few months later the hip started to feel tight.
Then the knee began complaining.

It feels like separate problems.
So you start chasing appointments with specialists for each joint.

But most of the time, it’s the same pattern moving through the body.
Your body is very good at coping and adapting.

If one joint stops moving well, another takes over.
If one side carries more load, the other compensates.

At first, nothing hurts.
Then tolerance narrows.

The pelvis shifts and hip movement becomes restricted.
Natural movement patterns change.
The knee begins taking strain it wasn’t designed for.

Pain appears.
Sometimes it fades.
Then it returns.

The body is trying to keep you moving despite an underlying imbalance.

That’s why strengthening the knee alone often doesn’t solve the issue.
And stretching the hips or back rarely stops the cycle.

Recognising the pattern is the first step to changing it.

If you keep experiencing recurring back, hip or knee pain, a structured assessment can help reveal the pattern behind it.

Comment 'consultation' to explore what may be driving your pain.

Most people only see the private support they get.
Hours I spend with a client.

What they rarely see is everything around it.

Researching their condition.
Reviewing past injuries.
Preparing the session.
Writing their program.
Uploading videos.
Answering questions later.

And then switching roles.

Marketing
Accounting
Tech support
Content creation
..long list of to do later

When you a solopreneur, you don’t just do the work and go home.

You build the entire structure.

Some days that feels empowering.
Other days it feels like spinning ten plates at once.

That’s one of the reasons I wanted to support The Rise Report Female of Entrepreneurship 2025 - one of the largest studies of female entrepreneurship in the UK.

The report gathered insights from 2,225 female founders generating £1 billion in annual turnover, and something that stood out to me was this:

78% said human connection is central to their entrepreneurial journey.

Because building something meaningful can also feel incredibly lonely at times.
In fact, 1 in 7 female founders say loneliness is their biggest challenge.

Behind every small business is a human being learning things they more likely never trained for.

And still showing up the next day, the day after, year, decade(s)...because it's not just 'work', it's a mission with purpose.

I’m honoured to be one of the ambassadors supporting The Rise Report launch, and today I’ll be joining the International Women’s Day report launch in central London.

If you’re curious about the real experiences of female founders across the UK, you can sign up to read the report here:

https://therisereport.co.uk/

Your back pain isn’t constant.

It shows up every few months.
Then it improves.

You feel hopeful.

Life goes back to normal.

Work gets busy.
Sleep shortens.

You sit more or
suddenly increase activity.

And the pain returns.

Not because you did something to your back.

But because your body never changed the way how it uses your joints and spine.

It simply tolerated it for a while.

Clients I work with don’t ignore their pain.
They manage it very well until they it effects their movement, relationship & joy from life.

Managing pain is not the same as resolving it.

If pain keeps returning in cycles, the real question isn’t:

“Shall I book a physio or massage?”

The question is:

'How do I move and hold my body?'

Real change begins with noticing the details.

Celebrating a new podcast episode!​
Link in commemts.
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With Sarah Dawkins, host of Body Mind Medicine for Self-Healers, we unpacked what I call a lived load pattern - layers of compensation you can accumulate quietly over years.​
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Recurring joint or back pain rarely returns because you “didn’t strengthen enough.”​

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It returns because your body is still protecting,​
loading is still uneven,​
and your nervous system is still on high alert.​
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Which is why you can do all the “right” rehab - and still end up in the same flare-up cycle.​
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So the question isn’t “what exercise should you add?”​
It’s “what is your body avoiding - and what pattern keeps repeating?”​
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If you want to start mapping your own pattern, listen to the episode.​
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Then DM me ASSESSMENT and I’ll send you details for a 40-min Assessment Consulting call based on biomechanics screening.​
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𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴
𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧.

Clare is a high-performing professional.
She lived with recurring lower back pain for years.

She kept going and chose the “𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦” style care.
A decade of chiropractor visits.

Flare-ups were coming back not because she wasn’t active.
𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 to three pregnancies, hobbies, lifestyle and career...

Her ribcage flared.
Her pelvis shifted forward.
Her shoulders stayed rounded.
Her breathing adapted without her noticing.

I call this '𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯'.
The body's response to life circumstances.

She was recommended by a friend to try something different.
I'm glad that she found me 12 years ago :-)

Over time, the 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 and troubleshooting flare-ups to building a body that could tolerate real life.

𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴.
We’ve all done it.

Last week I woke up with dull pain across one side of my head.
My cheek was red and tender.

I tried my usual tools first.

Facial cupping for sinuses and tension.
Face massage with acupressure points.

This time they didn’t shift the pain.

So yes, I took painkillers which I rarely do.
And it worked. I slept through the night.

Sometimes the painkillers are absolutely appropriate.
Sometimes there are not necessary.

Here’s something many people don’t realise!

One of the documented 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘴… 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯.😭

Medication-overuse headaches are common.

Long-term anti-inflammatories can irritate the gut and increase inflammation.
Opioids can increase pain sensitivity over time.

𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘺𝘤𝘭𝘦.

That doesn’t mean medication is wrong.

It means relief isn’t always the same as recovery.

If pain keeps returning, the pattern underneath hasn’t changed.

There are non-pharma ways to reduce intensity and recurrence over time:

🔥𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺. For the face: cupping, massage, acupressure.

🚶𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘸, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺. Warm tissue tolerates load better.

🫁𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘴 to reduce back tension.

💤S𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘩𝘺𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘦. Fragmented sleep lowers pain tolerance dramatically.

🧘♀️𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘴 regulates nervous system.

These can 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

Our bodies are naturally asymmetrical.

When compensations exceed what your joints can tolerate, pain shows up.

If this feels familiar, comment ASSESSMENT and I’ll send details about a Body (A)symmetry Audit to uncover what’s keeping your pain recurring.

𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘬 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 🤔

Most people ending the week with mental and physical fatigue assume it’s all stress-related.

You finish the day with heavy eyes and a foggy head.
Your back starts aching after calls or meetings.

You “need” caffeine to get through admin.
Sleep feels light, even when you’re exhausted.

You may want to consider the 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 your body has been running for years. 👍

You may call it ‘posture’, but that sounds like a cosmetic issue to many.

I call it misaligned joints and bones that have lost the right communication channels over decades.

It’s not because you “forgot to sit up straight at work”.

What you’re really dealing with is, how your: 📊
🡢 ribs and pelvis are stacked
🡢 breathing is coordinating
🡢 eyes track the environment

And most importantly, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘺𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 🧠

🧠Your 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 and it’s energy hungry.
🤸Your 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴, and asymmetrical patterns cost you precious energy.

So when your 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯, 𝘪𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

Your shoulders creep up and forward without you noticing.
Your breathing gets shallow.
Your feet change shape.
Your steps get shorter.
Your torso collapses.

This might sound like exaggeration of symptoms, but this is what I often see in my practice. People reach out when they’ve “tried it all”.

Those are real energy leaks.
Not character flaws.

If your fatigue keeps repeating and your body feels tight, it’s worth asking:

How much of this is cognitive…
and how much is your body working overtime to keep you upright?

Comment BODY and I’ll share the 3 most common asymmetry patterns I see in my practice.

𝘐𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸.

Most people with recurring joint or back pain have already:

Strengthened. Stretched.
Foam rolled. Adjusted their desk.

And yes, it often helps.
For a while.

Then the pain returns.
Because strength is rarely the core issue.

𝘓𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴.

You can strengthen a body that is still 𝐚𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥.
You can stretch a system that is still 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 somewhere else.
You can mobilise a joint that is 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 for another.

And the 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴.

I am not against balanced resistance workouts.

𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦-𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

There is better way that gives you sustainable results - better joint function with out pain.

𝚁𝚎𝚕𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚏 𝚐𝚊𝚍𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎?

Someone recently DM’d me a reel and asked for my opinion.

The device claims to activate deep stabilising muscles and target the “root cause” of pain.

Hundreds of positive reviews.
“My back feels better.”
“I use it for my neck when I drive.”

And I don’t doubt the relief is real.
But relief and recalibration of the whole system are not the same.

By the time professionals come to me in their 40s and 50s with recurring joint or back pain, the issue is rarely one tight muscle or one part of body issue.

It is layered adaptation.

Old injuries.
Desk work.
Sport.
Stress.
Years of asymmetrical loading.

One shoulder lower.
Head slightly forward and rotated.
Ribcage flared.
Pelvis subtly shifted.

Load through the spine and joints becomes uneven.
Muscles adapt around that structure.

A gadget can calm symptoms.
It may even help someone feel stable enough to begin deeper work.

But it does not unwind compensation patterns built over decades.

That requires assessment and progressive plan.

Some people are comfortable maintaining relief with minimal input from their side.

Others want long-term structural stability and protection against further decline.

Those are different strategies.

𝙸𝚏 𝚓𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚛 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝟼+ 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚜, 𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚞𝚜𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚊 𝚙𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗.

Patterns deserve clarity.

That is where 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭-𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴.