Swabian Joint Center

Your joint pain - back

Learn more about the different causes of back pain and what you can do to get rid of your back pain.

Work of art back - a fascinating unit of spine and stabilizing muscles

Your back is of central importance for your health and well-being.

Your back consists of the bony spinal column and the important autochthonous back muscles (deep muscles), which are directly adjacent to the spinal column and are decisive for its stabilization and thus your upright posture. The deep muscles also include the deep lying parts of the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles. The deep muscles in their entirety are decisive for a pain-free back.

Unlike other muscles, you cannot train your deep muscles by consciously tensing them. This requires special concepts such as the Back-to-Balance® therapy to bring your back into balance again.

In addition to the autochthonous back muscles, there is a variety of muscles that start at the spine or affect you with their force vector and are called superficial back muscles (surface muscles).

An optimal balance between the deep and surface muscles of your back enables a pain-free back.

Functional back pain - Lumbago

Lumbago
  • Functional back pain means that back pain occurs due to a disturbed biomechanical function.
  • Patients often have suddenly shooting, mostly stabbing cruciate jokes and have to adopt a forced posture.
  • They have a movement lock, e.g. during rotational movements of the spine.
  • The spinous processes are often painful under pressure and the musculature on the side of the spinous processes is painfully tense (muscular hard tension).
  • Every third family doctor patient in Germany and every second orthopaedic patient visits the practice because of back pain.
  • If you suffer from acute back pain, 90% of it is of functional origin, which means that there has been an imbalance, which is symptomatically expressed in acute back pain.
  • The good news first - the pain will heal without consequences.
  • The challenge: We at SGZ support you, but you have to do something, then the back pain will heal and you don't have to be treated excessively.
  • Chronic back pain is a longer lasting back pain or recurrent back pain, i.e. back pain that gets better for a short time but then recurs chronically.
  • This is either a significant (specific) physical injury, e.g. a slipped disc, or a significant psychosocial reason (gain in illness) why the back pain does not improve.
  • No, only for fresh radicular pain, i.e. pain originating from a nerve root.
  • In this case, the intervertebral disc presses against the nerve and causes typical movement disorders with possible neurological deficits, i.e. you can no longer lift the foot or big toe, have numbness in the leg or have a disorder of bladder and rectum function.
  • In the physical examination these neurological deficits can be detected and typical tests such as nerve strain signs (Lasegue's sign) are positive.
  • No! Only for alarm signals (red flags) and important anamnestic information.
  • Otherwise we recommend a Back-To-Balance therapy.
  • weight loss, fever, neurological symptoms, trauma, known tumor disease, steroid treatment, severe osteoporosis, immune disease, shortness of breath, indigestion
  • Heart (heart attack), lung (pulmonary embolism), kidney (kidney stone), abdominal organs (perforation), pelvic organs (pregnancy), vessels (aneurysm)
  • lumbago = acute lumbago
  • Due to a chronic incorrect load, a dysbalance of the small muscles that stabilize the spine has occurred. The muscles are dysfunctional, too weak and often tense.
  • This dysbalance leads to incorrect loading of the vertebral joints, which you as a patient feel as a result of suddenly shooting pain after "lifting" or "stupid movement".
  • This is followed by a local movement disorder (blocking).
  • Fortunately, this finding is purely functional, i.e. without physical damage.
  • Test yourself whether you fit into the scheme of the typical back pain patient:
  • You have a predominantly sedentary job, a high demand on yourself with a high stress level.
  • You currently have a lot of worries, fears, e.g. an insecure position with little recognition or a challenging position with a lot of responsibility and a high stress level.
  • You have been overburdened physically in an unusual way lately, with much one-sided activity.
  • They do little balancing sport or one-sided sports at a high level.
  • Your body consists on the one hand of the surface muscles and on the other hand of the deep muscles.
  • With a well-trained person, you can see the impressive surface muscles from the outside which shape our body and give it a sporty appearance when trained.
  • The deep muscles, on the other hand, lie in the depths and work unconsciously and seemingly in secret. Like an inner corset, the deep muscles stabilize the body and contribute to a good posture. Therefore, a balance of these deep muscles is enormously important for a pain-free back.
  • The back-to-balance exercise program helps you to bring these deep muscles back into balance in case of existing imbalances.
  • Since the cause of functional back pain is a dysbalance, i.e. the disturbed regulation ability of the muscles between tension and relaxation, the most important principle of B2B-Therapy® is that this functional pain is also treated functionally. They cannot be operated away.
  • After a detailed clarification that there are no alarm signs, a therapy plan consisting of 2 pillars is drawn up: passive and active therapy.
  • In the acute phase of back pain, we support you in the context of passive therapy with painkillers and muscle relaxants in combination with other treatment methods such as local infiltrations, shock wave therapy, chiropractic therapy and electrotherapy.
  • These passive methods provide significant pain relief but do not minimize the risk of recurrence.
  • Here the second therapy pillar, the active therapy, is decisive. We from the SGZ team want to motivate you to move symmetrically despite pain, not to lie down but to be active. We will help you to help yourself, so that you can learn your own exercises to get back into balance.
  • It is crucial that a symmetrical balance of both the surface muscles and the deep muscles is restored.
  • We from the Swabian Joint Center will accompany you during your healing progress.
  • Functional back pain means that back pain occurs due to a disturbed biomechanical function.
  • Patients often have suddenly shooting, mostly stabbing cruciate jokes and have to adopt a forced posture.
  • They have a movement lock, e.g. during rotational movements of the spine.
  • The spinous processes are often painful under pressure and the musculature on the side of the spinous processes is painfully tense (muscular hard tension).
  • Every third family doctor patient in Germany and every second orthopaedic patient visits the practice because of back pain.
  • If you suffer from acute back pain, 90% of it is of functional origin, which means that there has been an imbalance, which is symptomatically expressed in acute back pain.
  • The good news first - the pain will heal without consequences.
  • The challenge: We at SGZ support you, but you have to do something, then the back pain will heal and you don't have to be treated excessively.
  • Chronic back pain is a longer lasting back pain or recurrent back pain, i.e. back pain that gets better for a short time but then recurs chronically.
  • This is either a significant (specific) physical injury, e.g. a slipped disc, or a significant psychosocial reason (gain in illness) why the back pain does not improve.
  • No, only for fresh radicular pain, i.e. pain originating from a nerve root.
  • In this case, the intervertebral disc presses against the nerve and causes typical movement disorders with possible neurological deficits, i.e. you can no longer lift the foot or big toe, have numbness in the leg or have a disorder of bladder and rectum function.
  • In the physical examination these neurological deficits can be detected and typical tests such as nerve strain signs (Lasegue's sign) are positive.
  • No! Only for alarm signals (red flags) and important anamnestic information.
  • Otherwise we recommend a Back-To-Balance therapy.
  • weight loss, fever, neurological symptoms, trauma, known tumor disease, steroid treatment, severe osteoporosis, immune disease, shortness of breath, indigestion
  • Heart (heart attack), lung (pulmonary embolism), kidney (kidney stone), abdominal organs (perforation), pelvic organs (pregnancy), vessels (aneurysm)
  • lumbago = acute lumbago
  • Due to a chronic incorrect load, a dysbalance of the small muscles that stabilize the spine has occurred. The muscles are dysfunctional, too weak and often tense.
  • This dysbalance leads to incorrect loading of the vertebral joints, which you as a patient feel as a result of suddenly shooting pain after "lifting" or "stupid movement".
  • This is followed by a local movement disorder (blocking).
  • Fortunately, this finding is purely functional, i.e. without physical damage.
  • Test yourself whether you fit into the scheme of the typical back pain patient:
  • You have a predominantly sedentary job, a high demand on yourself with a high stress level.
  • You currently have a lot of worries, fears, e.g. an insecure position with little recognition or a challenging position with a lot of responsibility and a high stress level.
  • You have been overburdened physically in an unusual way lately, with much one-sided activity.
  • They do little balancing sport or one-sided sports at a high level.
  • Your body consists on the one hand of the surface muscles and on the other hand of the deep muscles.
  • With a well-trained person, you can see the impressive surface muscles from the outside which shape our body and give it a sporty appearance when trained.
  • The deep muscles, on the other hand, lie in the depths and work unconsciously and seemingly in secret. Like an inner corset, the deep muscles stabilize the body and contribute to a good posture. Therefore, a balance of these deep muscles is enormously important for a pain-free back.
  • The back-to-balance exercise program helps you to bring these deep muscles back into balance in case of existing imbalances.
  • Since the cause of functional back pain is a dysbalance, i.e. the disturbed regulation ability of the muscles between tension and relaxation, the most important principle of B2B-Therapy® is that this functional pain is also treated functionally. They cannot be operated away.
  • After a detailed clarification that there are no alarm signs, a therapy plan consisting of 2 pillars is drawn up: passive and active therapy.
  • In the acute phase of back pain, we support you in the context of passive therapy with painkillers and muscle relaxants in combination with other treatment methods such as local infiltrations, shock wave therapy, chiropractic therapy and electrotherapy.
  • These passive methods provide significant pain relief but do not minimize the risk of recurrence.
  • Here the second therapy pillar, the active therapy, is decisive. We from the SGZ team want to motivate you to move symmetrically despite pain, not to lie down but to be active. We will help you to help yourself, so that you can learn your own exercises to get back into balance.
  • It is crucial that a symmetrical balance of both the surface muscles and the deep muscles is restored.
  • We from the Swabian Joint Center will accompany you during your healing progress.

Slipped disc

Slipped disc_LWS
  • Intervertebral discs (=intervertebral discs) are buffers between the vertebral bodies and have the function of enabling the mobility of the spinal column between the vertebral body segments and cushioning shocks.
  • Intervertebral discs consist of two parts, an outer fibrous ring (annulus fibrosus) and an inner gelatinous core (nucleus pulposus).
  • In humans, the intervertebral discs are located in the cervical spine, thoracic spine and lumbar spine.
  • On the one hand, the intervertebral disc is a pressure cushion and on the other hand it allows the spine to move.
  • In the area of the cervical spine, mobility is greatest, which is made possible by a high disc thickness compared to the height of the vertebral body.
  • If the fibrous core gets cracked and the gelatinous core loses its elasticity, the risk of a herniated disc increases.
  • In the case of a herniated disc, the fibrous ring of the disc tears and the gelatinous mass of the disc nucleus moves outwards towards the spinal canal and can constrict it.
  • If the alarm signals (red flags) are positive in the case of a herniated disc, further clarification is necessary.
  • Back pain is often equated with a herniated disc, but a herniated disc is much less common than previously thought.
  • The majority of herniated discs occur in the lumbar spine.
  • In principle, however, any area of the spine, including the cervical and thoracic spine, can be affected.
  • Slipped discs of the cervical spine occur in 15 percent of all slipped discs.
  • The thoracic spine is protected by the rib cage, is less mobile and therefore less frequently affected.
  • In the case of a symptomatic herniated disc, the pressure on the spinal nerves or the spinal cord causes severe pain.
  • Depending on its location, the pain can radiate into the arms or legs and lead to paralysis.
  • Numbness in the arms, hand, legs or feet can be symptoms of a herniated disc.
  • Dizzy spells, headaches and tinnitus are reported by many sufferers.
  • Chronic damage to the spinal cord (myelopathy) is accompanied by gait disorders and other neurological dysfunctions.
  • During the orthopaedic examination of the back and the spine, attention is paid to the location of the pain centre and it is tested whether there are any movement restrictions.
  • A dedicated neurological examination is important to detect motor or sensory deficits.
  • The X-ray examination and magnetic resonance imaging allow a presentation of the herniated disc and any accompanying pathologies.
  • No, this depends on the extent of the herniated disc and the symptoms. 90% of herniated discs do not require surgery.
  • In the acute phase of severe pain caused by a herniated disc in the lumbar spine, the step positioning helps to relieve the pain: lie flat on your back and have a tray, e.g. a box, placed under your two lower legs.
  • It is important not to remain inactive for too long. While it used to be common practice to prescribe 2 weeks of bed rest for people with a herniated disc, the current study situation clearly shows that you as a patient should be advised to remain active despite or even because of the herniated disc.
  • Special movement training can effectively prevent recurring complaints.
  • At the Swabian Joint Center we offer the B2B-Therapy® so that you can find your balance again despite a slipped disc.
  • For severe, functionally impaired, radicular pain extending beyond the hollow of the knee.
  • If there is a positive Lasègue test in the physical examination with neurological failures.
  • If there is no improvement after 4 weeks of conservative therapy and the symptoms match the segmental findings of the MRI.
  • Intervertebral discs (=intervertebral discs) are buffers between the vertebral bodies and have the function of enabling the mobility of the spinal column between the vertebral body segments and cushioning shocks.
  • Intervertebral discs consist of two parts, an outer fibrous ring (annulus fibrosus) and an inner gelatinous core (nucleus pulposus).
  • In humans, the intervertebral discs are located in the cervical spine, thoracic spine and lumbar spine.
  • On the one hand, the intervertebral disc is a pressure cushion and on the other hand it allows the spine to move.
  • In the area of the cervical spine, mobility is greatest, which is made possible by a high disc thickness compared to the height of the vertebral body.
  • If the fibrous core gets cracked and the gelatinous core loses its elasticity, the risk of a herniated disc increases.
  • In the case of a herniated disc, the fibrous ring of the disc tears and the gelatinous mass of the disc nucleus moves outwards towards the spinal canal and can constrict it.
  • If the alarm signals (red flags) are positive in the case of a herniated disc, further clarification is necessary.
  • Back pain is often equated with a herniated disc, but a herniated disc is much less common than previously thought.
  • The majority of herniated discs occur in the lumbar spine.
  • In principle, however, any area of the spine, including the cervical and thoracic spine, can be affected.
  • Slipped discs of the cervical spine occur in 15 percent of all slipped discs.
  • The thoracic spine is protected by the rib cage, is less mobile and therefore less frequently affected.
  • In the case of a symptomatic herniated disc, the pressure on the spinal nerves or the spinal cord causes severe pain.
  • Depending on its location, the pain can radiate into the arms or legs and lead to paralysis.
  • Numbness in the arms, hand, legs or feet can be symptoms of a herniated disc.
  • Dizzy spells, headaches and tinnitus are reported by many sufferers.
  • Chronic damage to the spinal cord (myelopathy) is accompanied by gait disorders and other neurological dysfunctions.
  • During the orthopaedic examination of the back and the spine, attention is paid to the location of the pain centre and it is tested whether there are any movement restrictions.
  • A dedicated neurological examination is important to detect motor or sensory deficits.
  • The X-ray examination and magnetic resonance imaging allow a presentation of the herniated disc and any accompanying pathologies.
  • No, this depends on the extent of the herniated disc and the symptoms. 90% of herniated discs do not require surgery.
  • In the acute phase of severe pain caused by a herniated disc in the lumbar spine, the step positioning helps to relieve the pain: lie flat on your back and have a tray, e.g. a box, placed under your two lower legs.
  • It is important not to remain inactive for too long. While it used to be common practice to prescribe 2 weeks of bed rest for people with a herniated disc, the current study situation clearly shows that you as a patient should be advised to remain active despite or even because of the herniated disc.
  • Special movement training can effectively prevent recurring complaints.
  • At the Swabian Joint Center we offer the B2B-Therapy® so that you can find your balance again despite a slipped disc.
  • For severe, functionally impaired, radicular pain extending beyond the hollow of the knee.
  • If there is a positive Lasègue test in the physical examination with neurological failures.
  • If there is no improvement after 4 weeks of conservative therapy and the symptoms match the segmental findings of the MRI.