In Episode 72 of the Physiotutors podcast, we interview Dr. Daniel Belavy, a professor with a prolific research background in muscle, bone, and joint health, specifically focusing on low back pain. The discussion explores various aspects of back pain research, including disk herniations in astronauts, the role of mechanical loading in disk health, and the challenges of classifying non-specific low back pain.

Dr. Belavy shares insights from his studies on physical exposure and spine postures, contextual effects in treatment, and exercise training for back pain. He emphasizes the importance of understanding how treatments work to optimize clinical care and highlights the ongoing quest to identify subgroups and optimal exercise prescriptions for back pain. The episode underscores the complexity of back pain and the multifactorial elements influencing it, advocating for continued research and collaboration in the field.

Content

00:00 Intro

00:57 Disc Herniations in Astronauts

04:08 Discs need (de-)loading

08:04 Is there a U-curve for loading?

10:15 NSLBP Classification Challenges

19:20 SI Joint Pain Classification Challenges

24:30 Physical Exposures and Low Back Pain

29:04 Physical Function/Activity and Low Back Pain

31:40 Contextual Effects in Low Back Pain

40:09 How to harness contextual effects in treatment

41:21 Which type of exercise is best for LBP

47:01 Exercise variables and pain reduction

50:29 Daniel's closing thoughts

53:00 Contact info

55:52 Outro

Bonus Material

Download the referenced transcript including PubMed Links and a high-resolution infographic on this episode as part of your Physiotutors membership on the Physiotutors App.

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