Better conservative therapies for back pain

Conservative and unconventional therapies for back pain

08/02/2015

Millions of people in this country suffer from back pain. The treatment of the symptoms may vary depending on the cause. According to one expert, unspecific back pain should increasingly focus on conservative therapies. But unconventional measures are also available.

Different treatment methods
Back pain is one of the most common physical complaints that people in this country suffer from. Since the causes can be extremely diverse, the treatment methods are also very different. In some cases, simple back pain exercises often help to make you feel better quickly. For more serious problems, such as a herniated disc, some doctors sometimes resort to surgery.

Strengthened to put on conservative therapies
As a matter of principle, physicians and patients should increasingly focus on conservative therapies for the treatment of nonspecific back pain. Because it also requires the active participation of the person concerned. „The unspecific back pain is a civilization disease“, explained the spine specialist Professor Christoph Josten of the University of Leipzig to the German Press Agency (dpa). „We do not care enough for our spine. Maintaining is an active measure. And unfortunately that will be forgotten a bit in our society.“

Unconventional measures against back pain
According to the expert, many back patients have the expectation that medicine will already fix the problem through surgery. Instead, Josten advocates active care, for example through a lot of exercise, stair climbing or abdominal muscle training. In addition, unconventional measures such as acupuncture could help. And osteopathy also helps with back pain, as recently shown in a review study. However, such methods are often not paid by the health insurance companies.

Sport and relaxation exercises for prevention
Health experts say more emphasis should be placed on prevention in general. Since the causes are usually found in too little exercise and untrained muscles, regular exercise is certainly one of the most important preventative measures. Swimming, Nordic walking or cycling are just some of the possibilities. Workers who sit in their job a lot, should pay attention to the correct posture and repeatedly take breaks and move. Since stress and other mental stress are common causes of back pain, it may be advisable to do stress relief exercises if necessary. And people who are overweight or obese should consider losing weight to relieve the back. (Ad)