My Journey Back to Being Pain-Free
Neck pain and shoulder pain have been part of my occupational side effects. I have made some changes in my posture and working styleto reduce it. But sometime early last year, in 2025, it suddenly shot up to a point where I couldn’t perform day-to-day activities. I couldn’t sleep well, taking care of the baby or the dogs was difficult, and I couldn’t focus. This time, the pain was so much that I just couldn’t tolerate it.
As before, I visited doctors. I visited many times, took their treatments and medication. Followed every instruction given by them. The pain would go away for some time, and then it would come back and shoot up again. This time it was different.
Along with the pain, I think it was also the peak travel and work stress period. I had to go to Chennai and then probably to the Kumbh Mela. I was wearing a cervical collar during my Kumbh Mela trip, on a doctor’s advice. I lost the collar during the Kumbh Mela, and the rest of the trip was unbearable. I had to rely on medication, and the return flight was extremely painful. As soon as I returned from Kumbh, I had to travel to Mumbai for work. All I remember is pain.
The pain would shoot up in the cold. I couldn’t sit in the air-conditioning. I couldn’t sit outside at dusk. I had to keep my neck warm all the time. I could barely sleep.
After that, I made many adjustments. I changed my sleeping position to be more friendly to my back, spine, and neck. It did improve a bit, but the pain kept coming back in cycles.
During this painful phase, two things happened. I was at a child’s birthday party, sitting alone. A friend came up and asked if I was grumpy and why I was sitting by myself. I told them I was in a lot of pain and couldn’t focus. Normally, you would rarely see me sitting in a corner or not talking to people.
There were three or four people around, and all of them told me I should try physiotherapy. Most of them were around my age or slightly younger, and all were serious sportspeople, professional or semi-professional. They had rebuilt their bodies through physiotherapy. When all of them said “physio” independently, it struck me that I had to try it.
During my Mumbai visit. A colleague there told me very clearly that I had to invest time in physiotherapy and strength building, and that this was the only long-term solution.
So I started asking around for a good physiotherapist. A friend who runs Pretty Dan Good and has a similar occupational hazard gave me the contact details of Hari Nag, one of the founders of Stairs Physiotherapy. I called him and spoke to him. By his suggestion, I met Omkar at their Ulsoor center.
I was a little hesitant, but I went and met the physiotherapist. We did an evaluation session, which was very painful because I had to do many movements he asked for. My mobility was bad. My strength was bad. Everything around my shoulder and neck hurts. I was clearly in pain.
At the end of the evaluation, he asked me about my goal. For me, the miracle goal was simple: reduce the pain. He told me that consistency would be key.
We did physiotherapy for a month. Then I had to travel again, which broke the routine, and the pain shot up once more. I took a break of about a month, and then restarted, this time with a little more confidence. I was still nowhere near pain-free, and I couldn’t do much with my hands, shoulders, or arms. And there were signs of improvement.
Then Omkar left, and I was handed over to Bhumika’s safe hands. I hadn’t met her before, but she came across as empathetic, approachable, and friendly right away.
We started this phase of the journey in July/2025. The first four months were about building a routine, staying consistent, reducing pain, and slowly improving mobility.
By September, I was more or less pain-free. I started more P.T or Workouts. Looking at my pain tracker today, I’ve been pain-free for the last four months. That is largely thanks to Bhumika. I also have to credit myself for being consistent. But without her empathy, understanding, and encouragement, this wouldn’t have happened. I have deep respect for her professionalism and warmth.
Today, we’ve been working on my shoulder strength and residual pain for about seven months in total. Over the last two to three months, the focus has shifted away from pain reduction, because the pain is almost zero, and toward building strength. We’ve started presses, pulls, and using weights.
Remarkably, I haven’t had pain for the last three to four months. I can lift things with confidence now, and I’m no longer scared of weights or of triggering pain again. In fact, I also rode to Kuppalli. That fear is gone, and for that I’m grateful to Bhumika.
Our focus for 2026 is to continue building strength and reduce body fat percentage (I do carry a very standard Indian dad body fat percentage). I also want to do a long ride next year, so build enough to sustain that.
Along with Bhumika and a bunch of friends who pushed me towards Physiotherapy in the beginning. My friends Sandeep and Sandeep introduced me to pickleball and encouraged me to be active. Manju who accompanied on rides, that helped to build confidence. Anju not only encouraged me but also helped me to eat healthily. I think it all came together. I am very thankful to all of them.
That has been my journey to being pain-free.
