I’m April Halstead, founder of Her Good Back. Welcome to a safe place for women over 50, 60, 70 (and beyond!) to find relief from back and neck pain—gently, sensibly, and on our terms.
My vision is simple: to inspire self-empowered solutions that fit our individual bodies.
Why? To relieve our pain, restore our mobility, improve our attitudes, and most importantly, preserve our independence as we age.
Why Women Over 50 Need Specialized Back Care
We are anatomically, physiologically, and emotionally different from men. But why focus specifically on older women?
Because this is the time in our lives when we begin to lose muscle, bone density, and mobility. We face unique conditions like arthritis, osteoporosis, and menopause-related joint pain.
These aren’t just medical terms; they are thieves. They lead to fractures, falls, and surgeries. This spirals into a diminished ability to enjoy life, threatening our purpose and happiness.
We live longer than men. But who wants to live a long life in a body that feels like a prison? Not us Sisters. No Ma’am!
We deserve to be strong, flexible, pain-free, and clear-headed—living out our years as fully as possible.
One of my young friends recently lost her grandfather, who lived well into his 90s. When she asked him the secret to a long life, he replied, ‘Don’t sit down!’ Words to live by!
The Reality Check: Independence vs. Immobility
Our work needs to start now. We need to ‘up our game’ so we can reap the rewards of healthy living while it’s still possible.
We’ve all heard the sad stories of friends who suffered from back and neck pain and experienced a rapid decline. The prospect is scary. I f you’re reading this, I believe you are with me in wanting to avoid that fate.
The 7 Pillars of Her Good Back
We are going to focus our journey on these specific areas to heal, relieve, and deal with the pain that is stealing our joy:
- Back School Education: Learning the anatomy and physiology basics to understand where the pain comes from.
- Body Mechanics: Retraining our posture—how we sit, stand, sleep, and move.
- Lifestyle Simplification: “Work smarter, not harder” hacks to avoid pain triggers.
- Safety First: Protecting our hips, limbs, and joints to avoid slips and falls.
- Gentle Movement: Basic exercises for healing and relieving back and neck pain.
- Mind-Body Connection: Healing the spirit through research and inspirational reading.
- Products & Tools: Honest reviews of the essential tools to help restore our health.
Just add your willingness and intuition to create your own vision of a Good Back!
Navigating the ‘Cookie Cutter’ Healthcare System
Our aching backs are often up against the walls of a healthcare system that offers limited ways of addressing our pain. We are up to our stiff necks trying to get traditional doctors to treat our bodies as wholes instead of parts on a butcher chart.
I’ve tried in vain to discuss back and neck pain in the same conversation with doctors. But in the medical system, the spine is broken down into Insurance Diagnostic Codes (ICD-10).
With respect to the healthcare system, we older women seek individualized solutions.
We may not fit into their profit models or cost-containment metrics. This is why we need to quite literally ‘grow a backbone’ and seek our own intuitive mix of solutions outside the box.
A Note on Ageism: Redefining ‘Older‘
Ugh—Senior. Older. Geriatric.
What’s in a number? You get to define what ‘older’ means for you. I don’t like the word ‘Senior’ any more than you do.
No matter what our culture calls us, it feels like O-L-D. Nobody likes to feel old, especially when your back and neck hurt. It’s easy to feel defeated by pain and the number of years we have lived.
Here at Her Good Back, we only use these terms so we can find each other via the search engines.
We can choose to affirm that 60 is the new 50, age is just a number, and you’re as young as you feel on good days. (Though I admit, some days we’ll feel ‘old’ because of the pain!)
Whether you are 50, 70, 90, or beyond—if you identify as female, you are welcome here. You’re also welcome if you are seeking help for an older female loved one.
Let’s Keep Moving (and Laughing)
Laughter is the best medicine—and the best core exercise!
- Shhh! My beloved, departed mother Nan always shaved 6 years off her age. I hope today isn’t the day she smites me!
- When my niece Celestial was little, she called me ‘Auntique!’
- This year my ‘Wasband’ Boomer and I got back together. He says we didn’t feel old until I came back!
I’m April Halstead, founder of Her Good Back. Welcome to a safe place for women over 50, 60, 70 (and beyond!) to find relief from back and neck pain—gently, sensibly, and on our terms.
My vision is simple: to inspire self-empowered solutions that fit our individual bodies.
Why? To relieve our pain, restore our mobility, improve our attitudes, and most importantly, preserve our independence as we age.
Why Women Over 50 Need Specialized Back Care
We are anatomically, physiologically, and emotionally different from men. But why focus specifically on older women?
Because this is the time in our lives when we begin to lose muscle, bone density, and mobility. We face unique conditions like arthritis, osteoporosis, and menopause-related joint pain.
These aren’t just medical terms; they are thieves. They lead to fractures, falls, and surgeries. This spirals into a diminished ability to enjoy life, threatening our purpose and happiness.
We live longer than men. But who wants to live a long life in a body that feels like a prison? Not us Sisters. No Ma’am!
We deserve to be strong, flexible, pain-free, and clear-headed—living out our years as fully as possible.
One of my young friends recently lost her grandfather, who lived well into his 90s. When she asked him the secret to a long life, he replied, ‘Don’t sit down!’ Words to live by!
The Reality Check: Independence vs. Immobility
Our work needs to start now. We need to ‘up our game’ so we can reap the rewards of healthy living while it’s still possible.
We’ve all heard the sad stories of friends who suffered from back and neck pain and experienced a rapid decline. The prospect is scary. I f you’re reading this, I believe you are with me in wanting to avoid that fate.
The 7 Pillars of Her Good Back
We are going to focus our journey on these specific areas to heal, relieve, and deal with the pain that is stealing our joy:
- Back School Education: Learning the anatomy and physiology basics to understand where the pain comes from.
- Body Mechanics: Retraining our posture—how we sit, stand, sleep, and move.
- Lifestyle Simplification: “Work smarter, not harder” hacks to avoid pain triggers.
- Safety First: Protecting our hips, limbs, and joints to avoid slips and falls.
- Gentle Movement: Basic exercises for healing and relieving back and neck pain.
- Mind-Body Connection: Healing the spirit through research and inspirational reading.
- Products & Tools: Honest reviews of the essential tools to help restore our health.
Just add your willingness and intuition to create your own vision of a Good Back!
Navigating the ‘Cookie Cutter’ Healthcare System
Our aching backs are often up against the walls of a healthcare system that offers limited ways of addressing our pain. We are up to our stiff necks trying to get traditional doctors to treat our bodies as wholes instead of parts on a butcher chart.
I’ve tried in vain to discuss back and neck pain in the same conversation with doctors. But in the medical system, the spine is broken down into Insurance Diagnostic Codes (ICD-10).
With respect to the healthcare system, we older women seek individualized solutions.
We may not fit into their profit models or cost-containment metrics. This is why we need to quite literally ‘grow a backbone’ and seek our own intuitive mix of solutions outside the box.
A Note on Ageism: Redefining ‘Older‘
Ugh—Senior. Older. Geriatric.
What’s in a number? You get to define what ‘older’ means for you. I don’t like the word ‘Senior’ any more than you do.
No matter what our culture calls us, it feels like O-L-D. Nobody likes to feel old, especially when your back and neck hurt. It’s easy to feel defeated by pain and the number of years we have lived.
Here at Her Good Back, we only use these terms so we can find each other via the search engines.
We can choose to affirm that 60 is the new 50, age is just a number, and you’re as young as you feel on good days. (Though I admit, some days we’ll feel ‘old’ because of the pain!)
Whether you are 50, 70, 90, or beyond—if you identify as female, you are welcome here. You’re also welcome if you are seeking help for an older female loved one.
Let’s Keep Moving (and Laughing)
Laughter is the best medicine—and the best core exercise!
- Shhh! My beloved, departed mother Nan always shaved 6 years off her age. I hope today isn’t the day she smites me!
- When my niece Celestial was little, she called me ‘Auntique!’
- This year my ‘Wasband’ Boomer and I got back together. He says we didn’t feel old until I came back!
Once you’re back in the swing of life, you’ll be ready to age well and independently from here forward. Ready? Let’s keep moving!
