Running After a Sacrum Fracture: How the Buttafly Technique Helped Me Find My Way Back

After fracturing the base of my spine (my sacrum) in 2005, I genuinely thought my running days were over.

At the time, it wasn’t just “a sore back”. It was the strange, hard-to-describe combination of physical symptoms that can follow a traumatised sacrum — and the emotional weight of feeling like you can’t trust your body to do what it once did.

Yoga quietly nestled into my life and, over time, became a steady support through both the physical discomfort and the heartbreak of miscarriage. It gave me a way to breathe, to soften, and to stay connected to my body without forcing it.

In the years that followed, I did get back to moving again. My flexibility eventually improved beyond what it had been before. Nordic walking and cycling became a breeze. But running? Running still felt like the one thing my body simply wasn’t going to welcome back.

Everything shifted in 2015 when I discovered The Buttafly Technique — a gentle, non-invasive way of supporting the body’s natural self-alignment by creating the right conditions: precise positioning, deep relaxation, and nervous system safety. The remaining symptoms I’d been living with resolved, but even then, I still held the belief that running was out for me.

Then came the first lockdown, with that glorious spring sunshine, and I asked myself a different question: what if I treated this like a kind experiment rather than a comeback? What if I supported my spine every day — consistently, patiently — and simply tried a few steps of a gentle jog?

My old running shoes were long gone, so I invested in my first pair of Vivobarefoot shoes, and I began to bounce again. My old running shoes were long gone, so I invested in my first pair of Vivobarefoot shoes (not an ad — just what worked for me), and I began to bounce again. Not by pushing through, but by listening closely.

By late summer I was ready to try kickboxing (and I have to say, I was probably the fittest in the room for my age). And by my 60th birthday, I was back to running my favourite distance — five miles or so — with no back pain, no pelvic floor issues, and nothing to “manage”. Just the joy of freedom in my body again.

If you’re returning to running after a sacrum or lower back injury, this post shares what helped me — and how to approach your own return gently, with respect for your body and your pace.

Ps. Thanks to Mike Browne for coming out to play on a very chilly morning and taking some lovely photos of me in my happy place.