Rob -- good article. I've shared it with a couple of people I'm close with in an attempt to help them understand what my life has been like for the past few years. I've been suffering from chronic pain for a little while now, mostly in pretty much every area of my back. I've been through the medial wringer, much like yourself... more doctor's visits (everything from osteopaths to rheumatologists to spinal surgeons, etc.), MRIs, and x-rays than I can count, usually without much luck. I've been on all sort of medications: anti-inflammatory, anti-seizure, opioid, biologic, etc. Nothing even made a dent. I've always worked on getting better, but only very recently did I decide to make it my #1 priority. Since then, I've probably read a dozen books on pain, some of them enlightening and some of them just pure garbage. That included everything from Dr. John Sarno to medical textbooks on the spine to hokey new age books that advocated crystal patches. When I started reading about trigger point therapy and postural recovery, everything clicked for me. Since then, I've been extremely vigilant in taking care of my own trigger points as well as making big strides in my sitting, standing, and walking posture... addressing structural issues. Since then, I've been able to reduce my pain from an average of 6 to a probably a 1-2. I've also reduced my medications to one Tramadol a day as well as some light supplementation (Magnesium). I've made such fantastic progress that I've considered changing my field to one where I can help people in similar situations. I understand you've come to embrace your pain, but it's never too late to cure yourself.