The fitness lie: Why exercise is not always healthy

The fitness lie: Why exercise is not always healthy

The boom in the health industry in Germany is obvious: over eleven million people visited fitness studios last year, making Germany the nation with the highest number of gym visitors in Europe. But despite these positive figures, the number of people suffering from back pain is continually increasing. Doctor Arvid Neumann sees this trend as a “fitness lie”.

In an interview, Neumann said that fitness training does not achieve the desired health effect and does not relieve pain. Although he recognizes the positive short-term effects of exercise, he warns that recreational exercise can be harmful to health. In his opinion, many people suffer from back pain, which he attributes to several factors.

Causes of back pain

Neumann describes four main reasons for back pain:

• Ungünstige Körperhaltung.
• Falsche Bewegungsgewohnheiten.
• Verlust des Körper- und Bauchgefühls.
• Abhängigkeit von gesellschaftlichen Meinungen und Schönheitsidealen.

These factors are important not only for back pain, but also for other diseases of civilization. To combat these problems, Neumann has developed fascia orthopedics, which is based on two pillars: manual modeling of the body shape and the teaching of fascia-friendly movement.

Fascia orthopedics and body awareness

A central aspect of fascia orthopedics is perception training. Stress can cause unconscious tension in the shoulders and neck muscles. Consciously letting go of this tension can prevent neck tension. Neumann recommends breaking away from false ideals of beauty and integrating barefoot walking into everyday life as a positive measure. He also emphasizes the importance of an open, long, soft and flexible stomach for better mobility and breathing.

These critical views from Neumann, who also works as a sports scientist and orthopedic surgeon, are underlined by similar statements as set out in another report. It also points out that exercise is important, but too much exercise can also be harmful to your health, which further fuels the discussion about the right approaches to fitness and health. Neumann calls on people to question social norms and their influence on health and to choose a more individual approach to fitness and exercise.

While fitness studios are booming in Germany, the question remains as to how healthy this trend actually is. According to pz-news.de this topic is strongly criticized by Arvid Neumann, and also the Press addresses the health challenges associated with excessive exercise.