On this website as well as on our Facebook page, I tend to post more scientific than opinion papers. However, an article named How the Back Pain Industry is Taking Patients for a Dangerous Ride has come to my attention this week, and it is worth sharing it. The authors Danielle Venton and Jon Brooks make there a few important points:

• surgery should not be treated lightly;
• all hands-on treatments (cracking joints, massaging, etc.) are symptomatic and not causal;
• relying on accessories for getting better is not the road down to patients' autonomy and empowerment.

We do share these views. This is the reason why most of our treatment is solely based on the use of gravity, as the only freely available resource everywhere on the planet. Sometimes (and only after the patient masters his/her own body perfectly well) technical solutions may come into play for coping with the last bits of unresolvable pain. In this case, we will make sure that their use does not require any third party, and that the patient develops the necessary expertise to use the solution without creating new damage. 
A strict adherence to our "hands off paradigm" is key to being able to provide distance treatment for postural disorders.

A study published this year in the JAMA describes the evolution of the healthcare costs in the US since 1996. The results are clear: "spending on diabetes, ischemic heart disease, and low back and neck pain account for the highest amounts of spending by disease category".

The same trend can be observed in all Western countries. This shows the societal relevance of a new prevention paradigm, based in our opinion on

• empowerment of patients with musculosekeletal disorders e.g., by posture therapy
  
• early prevention (see our program in schools).
  

A new research article investigated the link between "sitting upright" (a concept to be more clearly defined) and psychological state: 

“Compared to sitting in a slumped position, sitting upright can make you feel more proud after a success, increase your persistence at an unsolvable task, and make you feel more confident in your thoughts,” Dr. Broadbent explained. "Research also suggests that sitting upright can make you feel more alert and enthusiastic, feel less fearful, and have higher self-esteem after a stressful task.”

The clinical practice indeed often shows a strong psychological impact of posture therapy.  [...]

In 2016 I have been approached by 3 patients that I had never met in person: one in Paris and two in New York. All three suffered musculosekeletal disorders (neck pain, lower back pain and elbow pain respectively). They wanted to be treated by the TIPM Mensendieck therapy but could not travel to Lausanne (Switzerland).

Their medical diagnosis was requested beforehand, and we tried individual treatment by Skype. After a few months, the conclusion is clear: they are now doing well. [...]