Physical activity, the best preventive factor against back pain

The profile of patients who mostly suffer from back problems are sedentary people, especially office workers who spend a lot of time sitting and with little movement. However, the term 'back pain' is very broad and the differences between an injury and a dysfunction should be qualified.. In the injuries involved processes where the tissue has undergone alterations, while we talk about dysfunctions when, due to biomechanical alterations, problems of overuse, overload, muscle spasm and fibrosis arise.

The discopathies and degenerative processes are the problems mostly treated in the consultation. However, it is important to note that these alterations do not always lead to pain or disability of the patient. To make a good clinical history and a thorough physical examination is fundamental to determine the origin of the ailments and to treat them properly beyond the radiological diagnosis. Especially relevant are spinal diseases that present with neuropathic pain, since this greatly impairs the quality of life of patients. Other less frequent conditions in consultation are spondylolisthesis and stenosis of the spinal canal.

Stress is another factor that contributes to the appearance and maintenance of these socially accepted problems that coexist daily with the population, which represents a real public health problem. Beyond the available treatments, the sport and the improvement of the physical condition , will minimize these pains, which in some cases -with a very small percentage- can be invalidating .

The ideal treatment against back pain begins with a good diagnosis. In the field of conservative or non-surgical interventions, those that employ joint mobilization are those that have demonstrated greater effectiveness. In this field, Osteopathy is shown as a therapeutic option of the first order, being back ailments its main reason for consultation. The combination of manual therapy and a physical activity adapted to the capabilities and tastes of the patient favor that the treatment is successful in the medium to long term.