“Our patients don’t want any chemicals”

When Andreas Stommel first opened his outpatient rehabilitation center in the German city of Bonn he employed six people. Today, however, this figure has grown to sixty. The number of back patients has risen too – as have their expectations. “But that’s a good thing!” says the physiotherapist.

Bauerfeind life: “The back” is the topic on everyone’s lips. Some patients even know how they want to be treated. Does that annoy you?
Andreas Stommel: No, not at all. I’m always happy to meet patients who have an idea about what’s caused their condition. After all , what could be better than encountering patients who know that they sit down too much and aren’t active enough? Many people who come and see me have already been prescribed a LumboTrain from their family physician or orthopedist. And that’s great because they already have a passive support on which we can build.

And turn into an active support?
Andreas Stommel: Exactly. As physiotherapists, we follow the approach of combining active and passive methods into a tandem solution. With LumboTrain, we can implement this method very well in practice. Of course, we have patients who are happy to perform exercises for us while wearing their active support. But , it goes without saying, that we also treat patients who are less inclined to exercise. They lie down on the couch expecting to receive a massage. But their attitude changes when we explain to them that muscles are the motor of movement. These consultations take time but we see them as part and parcel of what we do.

How does LumboTrain help you with this?
Andreas Stommel: Patients immediately notice an increase in their stability. And that motivates them. What’s more, LumboTrain doesn’t restrict them. It’s suitable for everyone, from bankers to hairdressers. And it can be used in any situation.

Do your patients have any general reservations about wearing a support?
Andreas Stommel: I’ve never met anyone with a bad word to say about LumboTrain. With its delicate, close-fitting structure, it is completely invisible under your clothes. And it works! Our patients don’t want any chemicals. Or side effects. I have the impression that people are becoming more and more sensitive in this regard, which means they are grateful whenever anyone shows them an alternative to painkillers. Low back pain, lumbago, muscular insufficiency of the spine and intervertebral disk prolapse or protrusion may affect each patient differently. This is why we need to perform detailed examinations in order to identify treatments tailored to their needs. This involves looking at the bigger picture and not just at their X-ray results. At the end of the day, we treat people and not X-ray images. day, we treat people and not X-ray images.

Image: Klaudius Dziuk