Back problems and our modern lifestyle are often directly related. Lack of exercise, obesity, incorrect posture at work, frequent and incorrect lifting and carrying of loads can trigger muscle tension, which can manifest itself as pain in the back. In addition, certain physical illnesses can also promote back pain. Stress and everyday worries also leave their mark on our backs, because in addition to physical illnesses, mood and psychological stress can also increase the tension in the muscles and be associated with back pain.

Current diagnostic methods provide only a static snapshot

Currently, a clinical diagnosis for back pain is made on the basis of a one-time physical examination and/or imaging procedures such as MRI and X-ray, and thus certain therapies are recommended. However, these static "snapshots" in an unfamiliar environment for the patient do not provide sufficient information about the underlying mechanisms of back pain. This very often results in wrong diagnoses and therapy decisions that turn out to be "therapy failures" later on.

Berlin spine study wants to improve diagnosis of back pain

We want to improve this unsatisfactory situation through scientific studies. In the future, the spine must be understood as an organ system "with dynamic function" and psychosocial correlations must be included. We want to move from a static short-term analysis ("snapshot") to a dynamic image of the spine. This is the only way to avoid "therapy failure" in the future.