Like many people with back pain, Matt Statham tried to stand up straight, holding his back tense to protect his injured spine.

He avoided lifting anything too heavy, just like specialists told him, to prevent any more damage being done.

So when Professor Peter O’Sullivan, a back-pain specialist at Curtin University, told him that was all nonsense – well, Mr Statham did not believe him.

Professor Peter O'Sullivan.

So the Professor dropped a pen on the floor. You can pick that up, he said. No, Mr Statham said, no chance. My spine will break.