Less back pain due to positive body image

Body image influences intensity of back pain

09/24/2014

Back pain can be related to a variety of factors, such as genes, malpractices or stress. The subjective body image also plays an important role here, reported Claudia Levenig from the Ruhr University in Bochum at the annual conference of the German Society for Psychology. The results of a recent study by sports scientists and psychologists of the German Sport University Cologne and the Ruhr University according to the attitude to their own body has a significant impact on the perception of pain.

Since a change in the subjective body image by pain has already been demonstrated in previous studies, the researchers in the current study asked the question whether the pain intensity in chronic back pain is also influenced by the subjective body image. They found that patients who have a negative assessment of their own health and well-being often have more severe back pain, according to the Ruhr-Universität. The subjective body image is therefore an important factor influencing the pain.

85 percent of Germans once in their lives with back pain
„Over 85 percent of Germans suffer from back pain at least once in their lives, and in every third case the pain becomes chronic“, reports the Ruhr University. In particular, the causes for the emergence and chronicity of so-called non-specific back pain are much discussed. In addition to physiological aspects such as genetic predisposition, wrong posture, lack of muscle also play here „Psychosocial factors such as stress, lack of recovery, maladaptive pain behavior“ a role, according to the announcement of the university.

Subjective body image with influence on pain processing
The researchers at the German Sport University Cologne and the Ruhr University focused on three aspects in their investigation of patients with chronic back pain in order to determine a possible connection between the pain and the subjective body image. They questioned the subjects about their health and physical well-being, self-acceptance of the body and physical efficiency. The results provided clear indications „Relationships between individual pain processing and subjective body image“, emphasized Claudia Levenig. A comparison of the sports activity of a total of 250 respondents also showed that with increasing levels of athletic activity, people increasingly assessed their physical efficiency higher. „Patients who did not exercise prior to the onset of back pain felt less healthy than recreational and competitive athletes, and took their backs when less trained“, so the announcement of the Ruhr University.

Sport improves the body image
„The more negative the respondents saw their own health and physical well-being, the higher was the pain intensity in the past seven days and the last three months“, reports the Ruhr University. The researchers come to the conclusion that athletes also have higher body image values ​​in injury and pain phases compared to non-athletes, which in turn has a positive effect on the back pain. Here, the improvement of the body image could be a significant starting point for the treatment of chronic back pain, said Levenig and colleagues. „Even if the research is still in its infancy, our results suggest that there are correlations between subjective body image and back pain, in this case, the pain intensity“, so Levenig. (Fp)