Most people are confronted with back pain at some stage in their lives. For many the pain is thankfully only temporary and disappears again without treatment. Back pain can show up in many different ways - down low in the small of the back or between the shoulder blades, in the buttocks and sometimes radiating out into the leg. Back pain may occur suddenly, like lumbago, or the pain may develop gradually.
Other sufferers often look for effective help for a long time. The search for the cause is often only partially successful. Even if “signs of wear and tear” or damaged intervertebral discs are diagnosed, it is a known fact that these do not necessarily justify the pain.

Many people live totally free of any symptoms even though their spine shows signs of “wear and tear”.

Looking for and locating the causes in the myofascial system is a worthwhile process. However, it is not easy. Disturbances in the muscle and fascia function cannot be identified with imaging techniques. The condition of the myofascial system can only be assessed by precise functional examination and palpation. If muscles or fasciae are disturbed in their function due to overload, injury or tension, the whole myofascial system is adversely affected.

Disturbances in the functioning of the myofascial system may cause severe pain.

In functional muscle therapy (fmt) the strain that the myofascial system has been subjected to over the course of the patient´s life is first identified in a detailed discussion. These can include falls or accidents in childhood, one-sided posture in school, heavy physical work, stereotypical movements at work, incorrect lifting and carrying of weights, sports injuries, unaccustomed activities (building a house, renovating) etc. Based on this initial assessment, it is possible to conclude already which muscles or fascia are most likely to have disturbances in their function.
A close examination, focusing in particular on an observation of posture, testing the mobility of the joints, analysis of the most painful movements and palpating the affected muscles and fascia will then bring the underlying cause to light. The cause is seldom located in the region of the back itself.
Many patients are surprised when they come to me with back pain, as I hardly ever treat the back itself directly, but rather the muscles and fascia of the stomach, the neck or the feet, for example.