Back pain is a very common ailment which can derive from different causes and it can have various outcomes. Treating back pain from its beginning is important to prevent the disorder from becoming chronic, annoying and more and more painful. At the same time, an active lifestyle can drastically reduce the likelihood of its occurrence.
BACK PAIN CAUSES
Incorrect posture can result in inflammation of ligaments, muscles, nerves, joints or bone structures, especially if considered from a dynamic point of view, i.e. during activities: from walking to physical exercise. However, back pain can be a sign of the onset of some specific pathologies and therefore it should not be underestimated but examined with a doctor.
Back pain is also considered a multifactorial disorder: it can derive from the concatenation of different causes that can therefore refer both to the physical and psychological/social sphere.
In fact, stress and anxiety play an important role in accumulating tension, reducing both the vascularity and flexibility of the muscles, with consequent pain that can occur both in the cervical and lumbar areas
TO KEEP IN MIND
In general terms, back pain has a functional value and represents an alarm signal that the body sends to request a change in the daily life, like many other types of pain.
WHO TO CONTACT IN CASE OF BACK PAIN
As said above, back pain can be a symptom that hides the beginning of a medical condition. Therefore, it is important not to underestimate the symptom and to have it examined by a doctor, in order to rule out something more serious. The attending physician will always be able to suggest a specialized centre or an orthopaedic visit according to the cause that he identifies in each individual case. Back pain is often caused by a bad posture used many hours a day (for example in the workplace, in the car or in other activity conditions). Therefore, it is important to have a clear vision of the optimal posture to maintain during the day.
The Movement Lab of Palazzo Fiuggi offers a specific program focused on dynamic posture, i.e. on how the body settles down during the execution of the movements. But what is the difference between static and dynamic posture?
THE POSTURE
Posture is commonly seen as a static condition, i.e. the position of one's body in space, the state of the muscles (stretched or shortened) and the mobility of the segments, which are in particular:
vertebral column
hips
knees
ankles
This perspective derives from Orthopaedics, from the Kinesiology of the 1950s and from the first approaches to corrective gymnastics. Undoubtedly, all these studies had a therapeutic purpose or aimed to ‘train’ the body in order to optimize its symmetries.
In recent years - probably during the past twenty years - the concepts of neuroplasticity, of the central and vegetative nervous system, of biofeedback, of anticipatory mechanisms, reflexes etc. have been strongly integrated into the biomechanical model with positive consequences, both on the idea of movement itself and the idea of posture.
The human body becomes brain-centric and posture is seen as a reflection of sensory information transformed into motor response: dynamic posture.
Consequently, the interpretation of this new perspective starts from the senses - commonly defined as proprioception - and adaptive motor responses in the context and activities in which the movements are carried out.
A classic example is ankle sprain. If poorly rehabilitated, it can cause a displacement of breech loads on the side opposite to the injury, with an asymmetry able to last for years if the disturbance or sensory interference is not treated in time. Very often, the trauma heals but the postural memory remains.
WHAT TO DO?
Palazzo Fiuggi’s Movement Lab offers a specific program to restore the sensory-motor system, in order to obtain the best muscular response to any external stimulus.
These stimuli can be of different nature:
sound;
visual;
related to instability;
stretching;
specific muscle strengthening;
vibrations;
Since the cause of the disorder has often a multifactorial nature, the approach for its treatment must be multidisciplinary and, therefore, the Movement Lab program is integrated with the SPA program, stimulating the nervous system with:
SPA wave;
massage;
cryotherapy;
osteopathy;
reflexology
At Palazzo Fiuggi you can take a moment for yourself to relax and prevent or treat annoying pains such as back pain, neck pain, hip, knees or ankles pain.
Find out more about the Movement Lab and the services of Palazzo Fiuggi.