First off, we need to establish what a firefighter is, within the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, and the part it plays within your inner sanctum. "Firefighters" are protective parts of the psyche that react impulsively to overwhelming emotional pain by distracting, numbing, or distracting from it through extreme behaviours like addiction, dissociation, rage, or chaos. 

In Internal Family Systems (IFS), an Inner Critic is not an exile; it is a type of protector part that carries burdens, such as perfectionism or self-hatred, and tries to help the system by trying to prevent failure or rejection. Underneath the critical protector lies a vulnerable exiled part, carrying the original pain or trauma that the critic is trying to protect the system from experiencing.

If you have ever suffered from lower back pain and never truly managed to relieve it, it might be connected to your emotional state and the link between your thoughts and physical body, manifesting as stagnant energy within you. This pain could reflect how you are feeling mentally and how that is playing out in your physical body. Your body is signalling that it needs help!