General
Back Pain – The Nation's Number 1 Ailment
Back pain is arguably one of the most widespread ailments of modern Western society. According to research by the Swiss League against Rheumatism, 8 out of 10 people will suffer from pain in their back at some point in their lives [4]. The 2014 health statistics show a similar trend: 35-45% of the Swiss population suffered from back or loin pain at least once during a four-week period [1]. Back pain is therefore one of the most common complaints in Swiss society.
Causes of Back Pain
The cause of back pain rarely has a pathological background. More precisely, 85% of all back pain is classified as non-specific. This means that there is no clear structural injury causing the pain, and it is more likely due to muscular tension or fascial issues [4]. The majority of root causes lie in a lack of exercise, being overweight, repetitive movement patterns, but also frequent lifting and carrying, and poor posture can lead to muscular tension. Furthermore, psychological phenomena such as stress, depression, or feeling overwhelmed at work or in everyday life, as well as stressful emotional conflicts, can also trigger back discomfort [5].
The remaining 15% of all back complaints have a specific cause, such as spinal stenosis or a herniated disc. In rarer cases, inflammation of internal organs, rheumatological diseases, as well as vertebral fractures or metabolic diseases can also trigger back pain [4].
Financial Consequences
Back issues are not only bothersome because of the pain, but they also lead to high healthcare costs in Switzerland. In 2018, an interdisciplinary research team calculated the cost of non-communicable diseases for the Swiss population for the first time. They found that musculoskeletal diseases—of which back pain makes up a major part—ranked second among the most expensive ailments, costing 8.7 billion Swiss francs per year [2]. Furthermore, the 2011 Back Report by the Swiss League against Rheumatism shows that out of a thousand Swiss surveyed, nearly a third miss work or school at least once a year due to back pain. The majority of them are absent for one to six days, and for 2.5%, the absence lasts for months [3].
What to Do About Back Pain?
The type of therapy depends on the duration of the back pain. For acute pain, such as lumbago, osteopathy and physiotherapy can help. In osteopathy, manual techniques like mobilizations and manipulations are used to restore the biomechanics of the spine. Through a holistic examination, other problem zones of the body that secondarily impact the back and trigger pain there can also be identified and treated. Physiotherapy treats acute muscle tension using fascial and myofascial release techniques (fascia techniques, trigger point therapy, dry needling, etc.). For long-lasting, so-called chronic back pain, the focus of physiotherapy shifts to guiding and introducing active training with exercises and working on self-management.
Being active yourself is not only a potential "therapy" for chronic complaints, but also an optimal way to prevent back pain proactively. Due to muscle building, movement improves posture, provides stability and mobility, and thus enhances body function [4]. To help you get active and make changes yourself with minimal effort, we present two short exercise programs below: exercises for the workplace and exercises for at home, which require very little time and can be performed anywhere. The exercises were compiled by students from the School of Health Sciences Fribourg for a campaign against back pain. The graphics were illustrated by Joakim Monnier.
Exercises for the Workplace
1. Shrug your shoulders up and let them drop, 5x
2. Seated, bend your upper body over your legs and breathe deeply into the stretch of your lower back, 3x
3. Seated, place one hand on your stomach, bring the other arm over your head to the opposite side without lifting your buttocks from the chair. 3x each side
4. Seated, cross your arms over your shoulders. Lean back with a straight back until you can feel tension in your abdominal muscles. 10x
5. Seated, with elbows bent, draw circles in the air with your hands and shoulder blades, keeping them in the frontal plane. 5x
6. Standing, place your hands on the table/chair and bring your entire back into a horizontal position. If necessary, bend your legs. 1x
7. Place one foot on the chair, the other step forward. Keep your back straight and push your hips forward. 3x per side.
Exercises for at Home
1. Forearm plank, keeping your back straight. Hold for 45 seconds.
2. Side plank on your elbow. Ensure your shoulder is directly over your elbow. Hold for 30 seconds per side.
3. All fours position. Alternately arch and hollow your back. 8x
4. All fours position. Rest your buttocks on your heels. Hold for 30 seconds.
5. All fours position. Lower your breastbone toward the floor. Hold for 30 seconds.
6. Prone position, rest your forehead on your hands. Lift your upper body off the floor.
7. Lying on your side with knees bent. Rotate your upper body to the other side while keeping your hips straight. 3x
We are also happy to provide the respective PDF files of the exercises for download (Exercises for the workplace | Exercises for at home), so that you always have them ready to perform in the office during lunch or coffee breaks, as well as at home... If you have any questions, feel free to contact the physiotherapists or osteopaths at BodyLab. They will be happy to help you.
If you need us, we are gladly here for you!
Your BodyLab Team, your specialists in back pain
Osteopathy and Physiotherapy | Rehabilitation and Training
Zurich Altstetten
References
Health Section, Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Neuchâtel, 2014, Corrected version of December 2016, ISBN 978-3-303-14212-7
[2] Switzerland pays a high price for non-communicable diseases
Carola A. Hubera, Simon Wieser
Swiss Medical Journal, 2018;99(33):1054–1056
[3] Back Report Switzerland – The survey on back health of Swiss men and women
Gerfin A. et al.
Swiss League against Rheumatism, 2011
[4] Swiss League against Rheumatism
[5] Infomedizin – Texts written & checked by doctors
The exercises were compiled by students from the School of Health Sciences Fribourg for a campaign against back pain. The graphics were illustrated by Joakim Monnier. With kind thanks for usage permission.
Cover Image Credits
https://pixabay.com/es/service/terms/, Back pain, CC0 1.0
