Long story short. When I was 14, I weighed over 200 lbs but could bench more reps than every teen in my class including the athletic boys. I was very strong and wanted to show it off to my family so I would pick up my 80lbs dog straight off the ground and lift him onto my chest using just my back. I'm not sure if that was the cause of it but it's all I can think of. After doing that for a while I began having back pain that would continue to get worse. By the time I hit the age 16 I weighed around 230 lbs. We went to go see a doctor about my back pain and he just ran his finger down my spine and said, "You need to lose weight." Believe it or not I didn't think I was that fat but I really was. I had big bones but that wasn't the reason why I was so heavy. Maybe it had to do with the muscle I had also and my bone weight but I definitely was fat but I couldn't see it. One day I just quit eating and would eat maybe a sandwich a day sometimes nothing. 3 months later I weighed 165lbs. 65lbs I dropped off. But guess what? My back pain was still just as bad as it was 3 months before!! That was years ago. Since then I have kept my weight off and even had a baby and while I was pregnant the most damnest thing was I had no back pain but as soon as he came out it came right back. I have been jogging and eating good to try to get myself into tiptop shape but when I do intense jogging sessions my back becomes way out of wack where I can barely walk or even hold my son walking. The sound of my spine cracking can be heard by anyone nearby it's THAT bad. Since I lost all of that weight from not eating, my strength had depleted more then half so I'm sure lots of it was my muscle that was lost and I'm trying to get that back and I don't know how to fix my back problem. I've had it for so long it's become completely normal for me to be in pain everyday. I can't afford a chiropractor or a doctor right now so I guess I'm just looking for some advice on how to strengthen my back somehow are something so I won't be in pain anymore. Pics below. Group pic is me when I was at my heaviest. By the river is when I was at 165lbs. One of the black shirt side pose is me now.