M. Bechterew osteopathy improves mobility

Alternative therapies are important

Key symptom of the inflammatory rheumatic disease Ankylosing spondylitis Bechterew are the everyday back pain. However, as these can be due to a variety of causes, only a minority of the estimated nearly 1.6 million people find that they have the disease. This leads to chronic inflammation in the vertebral joints, which gradually lead to a bony stiffening. Since the development mechanisms are mostly in the dark, today there is no chance of recovery of the disease, which typically punishes those affected later with a hump. But it does not have to come that far. Today, in addition to medicines, there are also effective alternative therapies that can at least stop the disease and minimize pain. In addition to classical physiotherapy, osteopathic treatments and cures in warm radon tunnels also provide relief.

"Movement is an indispensable component of effective therapy for ankylosing spondylitis," stresses Univ.-Doz. Dr. Bertram HölzI, medical director of the Gastein Heilstollen, the world's largest therapy center for ankylosing spondylitis. Physiotherapeutic exercises can specifically strengthen muscles. In addition, these exercises receive a flexible and upright spine. From the point of view of osteopathy too, movement is of fundamental importance. If movement restrictions of individual body structures are present, diseases will occur. As causes of such blockages, for example, dislocations, bruises but also as in the disease Bechterew inflammations in question. Osteopaths feel with their hands such tensions and fix them with various tensile, pressure and displacement techniques. "We are seeing in Bechterew's disease patients that post-treatment mobility improves and pain relieves due to muscle overload," Dr. Hölzl. Especially for patients with severe inflammation or high sensitivity to pain, the therapy is suitable, but it must be used regularly.

A longer-lasting effect has the so-called Radonwärmetherapie. The spa treatment takes place in the Heilstollen, where temperatures of over 37.5 degrees and high humidity up to 100 percent prevail. This is where aching muscles relax. In addition, the noble gas radon is released from the mountain rock in small quantities that patients absorb via the skin and lungs. "Radon releases mild alpha rays in the body. These stimulate the body's own cell repair mechanisms and reduce the activity of inflammatory cells and painkillers. " Hölzl. The noticeable pain relief is not always immediate, but often only a few weeks delayed. It lasts up to 9 months. (Pm)