Back school

The term Back school refers to special courses and seminars in which the participants are taught how to reduce and / or prevent back pain in the long term. These courses are aimed at different target groups and are tailored to children, retirees or people with chronic back disorders, for example. The statutory health insurance funds subsidize participation in a back school once a year.

What is the back school?

A Back school is a course aimed at people who suffer from chronic back problems or who want to prevent back pain effectively.

In this context, for example, exercises are carried out that can be used in everyday life and are intended to minimize the risk of regularly occurring back problems. Advice for certain everyday situations such as shopping or sitting in the office is also given in a back school. Such a course is led by a leader who should have specialized training (e.g. a medical or physiotherapeutic career).

Back training courses are offered by occupational therapists or physiotherapists or by fitness studios. They are geared towards different target groups and their content is accordingly matched to them. Participation in such a back school is subsidized once a year by the statutory health insurance with up to 80%.

Function, effect & goals

Back schools have the purpose to maintain or restore the back health of the course participants or to alleviate back problems if chronic complaints are already present.

Experts recommend participating in a corresponding course if you have a history of back pain, if you have risk factors such as obesity or a particularly heavy job, or if you experience regular or chronic back pain. Depending on which target group the respective course is aimed at, different focuses are set.

Basically, all back schools have in common that the participants should be made aware of back-damaging postures or movements in everyday life. An improvement in the individual body feeling should also be achieved in this way. Particularly in groups of people who sit a lot professionally or privately, the awareness should be conveyed that exercise is important and necessary in order to maintain the health not only of the back but of the entire organism or to improve the condition.

For this reason, not only physical exercises are carried out at a back school, but also theoretical advice. The exact content that is conveyed in the individual course depends on the target group and the qualification of the course instructor.Back schools for children, for example, are more playful, while those for seniors take age-related physical limitations into account.

Often times, attending a back school gives you the opportunity to change your lifestyle. It is not uncommon for relaxation methods or methods to cope with stress to be taught, as the causes of back problems are not always organic.

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Risks, side effects & dangers

Participation in a Back school should help to reduce pain or risk factors and to improve the well-being of the respective person.

If there is already damage from previous back diseases, careful attention must be paid to physical exercises that are also suitable for the individual participant. The movement sequences and the intensity of the exercises must therefore be tailored to the clinical picture so that the symptoms do not worsen.

The risk of such an incorrect load and any additional back problems that may occur afterwards is significantly reduced if the back school is actually run by a suitably trained and experienced person. This is why only courses are subsidized by the health insurance companies that can be proven that they are carried out by a doctor, a sports teacher or a therapist with the appropriate additional qualification.

Exercises initiated by untrained people can cause more damage to the participants' backs than they are of any real benefit. Anyone wishing to take part in a back school should therefore find out in advance who is leading the respective course and what qualifications they have. Only properly performed exercises can really relieve the back and thus decisively improve the well-being of the participant.