Kim Kardashian’s Back Pain Struggles and Why She’s Turning to John Sarno’s Healing Back Pain

Last night, Kim Kardashian posted a photo on her Instagram story of John Sarno’s classic book Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection. The book has changed countless lives - including my own.

With 355 million followers, Kim’s influence is staggering. When she shares a book, millions of people pay attention — and in this case, millions of people who have struggled with back pain may be introduced for the first time to a revolutionary way of thinking about pain.

So why is Healing Back Pain so special? And what does it mean that one of the most famous people in the world is reading about a mindbody approach to back pain?

Let’s break it down — and if you’re reading this because your back hurts, this could be the start of a completely different path for you.

Kim snapping an Instagram story with Healing Back Pain to her 355 million followers

Kim Kardashian’s History With Back Pain

Kim has never hidden the fact that her body has been through a lot, and back pain has been one of her most public struggles.

During her pregnancies, she was often in the spotlight for openly discussing how severe back pain, sciatica, and even sacroiliac joint problems made life difficult. She shared on her reality show that she dealt with daily discomfort and had to constantly adjust how she moved, slept, and worked just to keep going.

In interviews, she’s mentioned flare-ups that left her limited and frustrated.

She’s also talked about the challenge of balancing it all: motherhood, business, a high-profile career, constant travel, and the toll that takes on the body.

For millions of people, back pain shows up in exactly these moments: stress, pressure, transition, exhaustion. And while most (okay: practically any) of us don’t live Kim Kardashian’s lifestyle, we do know what it feels like to hurt every day, to be unsatisifed with our treatment results, to be unable to do our favorite activities, and to be unsure how or if we'll ever get better.

That’s why it’s so striking that Kim turned to Sarno’s Healing Back Pain.

What Is Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS)?

Dr. John Sarno was a rehabilitation physician at NYU who changed the way we think about chronic pain. His theory, called Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS), is simple but radical:

• Pain is real, but it’s not always due to a structural abnormality or pathological issue. Many people are told their back pain comes from a herniated disc, arthritis, scoliosis, or poor posture. But countless studies show that people with those exact issues often have no pain at all, and people are able to resolve their symptoms without fixing these structural issues.

• The brain can create pain as a protective mechanism. Stress, stuffed down emotions, and the pressure we put on ourselves can activate the nervous system’s danger signal, leading to chronic pain — even when nothing is physically “broken.”

• Recovery comes from shifting the brain, not fixing the body. By understanding the brain’s role in pain, unlearning fear, and processing the emotions we’ve pushed down, the pain signals can calm down — often for good. Hundreds of thousands of people have healed this way.

If you’ve ever been told, “You just have to live with it,” Sarno’s work says the opposite: You don’t.

Why Kim Kardashian Picking Up Healing Back Pain Is a Big Deal

When someone with Kim Kardashian’s platform highlights Sarno’s work, it’s more than just a celebrity reading a book. It’s a signal that the mind-body approach is entering mainstream culture.

And if you're hurting, you and Kim aren't alone. Low back pain is the leading global cause of disability.

Millions of people are stuck in the same cycle Kim has been in:

• Trying everything — physical therapy, chiropractic, injections, medications, maybe even surgery (or stem cell treatments if you're Kim).

  
  

• Getting temporary relief at best, but often no lasting solution.

  
  

• Feeling like their body is broken, fragile, or beyond repair.

Sarno’s message is a lifeline: You are not broken. Your body is strong. And your pain can be reversed.

Kim Kardashian posting about this book means more people might finally start questioning the story they’ve been told about their back pain.

What This Could Mean for the Future of Pain Recovery

Kim's post puts the spotlight on a truth the medical world is slowly catching up to:

Back pain is rarely just a mechanical problem.

Stress, trauma, and repressed emotions can drive pain more than posture or muscle imbalance ever could.

Recovery comes not from endless fixing, but from rewiring the brain’s pain circuits.

For someone who’s been stuck in pain for years, this can be life-changing. It was for me.

And it’s been life-changing for thousands of people who’ve embraced Sarno’s approach.

If You’re Reading This Because Your Back Hurts…

If Kim Kardashian, with all the resources in the world, is turning to John Sarno’s work — it says something about the limits of conventional back pain treatments.

If you’ve been told your MRI or x-ray explains everything, know this: millions of people with herniated discs, arthritis, and degeneration live pain-free.

If you’ve been stuck, scared, and losing hope — there is another way forward.

If you’re in pain right now, that’s the message I want you to hear most: You are not broken. You can get better. And it starts with understanding the brain’s role in pain.

Resources if you want to go deeper:

John Sarno’s Healing Back Pain: The book Kim posted

Free Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS) Assessment: In just five minutes, you'll learn if the Tension Myositis Syndrome approach can help you, and what to do with it.

From Pain Management to Pain Free Audio Course: A comprehensive audio program to help resolve symptoms. Sufferers have gotten better just by listening to it. Free access to the first 30 minutes for a limited time.

Recovery Stories: Hear from real people who have resolved back, neck, knee, groin, ankle, shoulder pain, migraines and much more.

Pain Free Comeback Substack: Healing Resources for Athletes: Built to help athletes whose pain is preventing them from engaging in their favorite sports.

Alec Kassin

The Injured Athlete's Comeback Coach

Co-Founder, Pain Free Comeback

Alec Kassin is a Certified Chronic Pain Elimination Coach, international speaker, and best-selling contributing author. He's also a former semi-pro cyclist and former chronic back pain sufferer. Alec has worked with top organizations like Coca-Cola and Airbnb, as well as Kona Ironman triathletes, American Ninja Warrior contestants and NCAA Division 1 athletes. He's the Co-Founder of Pain Free Comeback, a proven brain-focused recovery method for athletes and active people with lingering injuries and persistent pain.