World Spine Day is celebrated on 16th October every year to highlight the burden of spinal pain and disability around the world. The theme for World Spine Day 2020 is “ BACK ON TRACK”.
The pandemic with lockdown restrictions and work from home has impacted people’s ability to stay active and mobile. BACK ON TRACK celebrates people getting out, restoring their activity levels and focusing on effective spine care. BACK ON TRACK tells the importance of exercise, posture, movement and good self-care to ensure a healthy spine.
Back pain is the largest single cause of years lived with disability. Regular movement and activity of the spine are very important to let spine function properly, keeping everyone upright, and protecting the spinal cord and nerves.
Spine pain and disability can affect anyone from children to elderly. So it is very important to keep the spine flexible and healthy. Daily exercise can keep your spine functioning properly and prevent joints from getting creaky and painful.
From children to elderly, this World Spine Day let all commit to getting our Spines Back on Track!
Most Common Spine Conditions
The most common spine conditions include cervical stenosis, cervical myelopathy, cervical disc herniation, Lumar Slipped lumbar stenosis, neck strain, osteoporosis, whiplash, adult degenerative scoliosis, low back sprain and strains, compression fractures, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, etc.
Methods to Keep Your Spine Healthy and Happy
Back pain can diminish the quality of life which can prevent you from being able to accomplish even simple, everyday tasks. According to NINDS, lower back pain is the leading cause of job-related disability.
- Let your spine really rest while sleeping - Use a firm or medium-firm mattress to support the spine. While sleeping keeps your spine naturally aligned, if you sleep on your back then place a pillow beneath the knees to reduce the stress on the lower back. If you sleep on your side then place a pillow between the knees to keep the hips balanced.
- Exercise to strengthen abs and back muscles - Our rare back muscles are rarely used during everyday activities, so these muscles need to be toned through targeted exercises. Consult with the best physical therapist to know which exercises are appropriate for you.
- Shoes play an important role in supporting the lower back - Make sure the area of the shoe that fits the back of your heel is snug, but not overly tight. A good fit prevents too much rolling of the foot to the outside or inside. Avoid wearing high heels.
- Strengthening from holding yoga positions - Many of the postures in yoga gently strengthen the muscles in the back, as well as the abdominal muscles. Back and abdominal muscles are an essential part of the spine, helping the body maintain proper upright posture and movement. Back pain can be greatly reduced or avoided if these muscles are well-conditioned. Yoga helps stretch and strengthens the spine properly. Proper body alignment and good posture help in maintaining the natural curvature of the spine and it is an important part of reducing or avoiding lower back pain.
- Practice good ergonomics while sitting - The discs in the lower spine are loaded more while sitting than standing, so sitting for a longer period of time can aggravate a painful back condition.
- Stay hydrated - It is important to stay hydrated to maintain soft tissue elasticity and fluidity in joints. Dehydration can cause spinal disks to lose height and you can become more susceptible to painful disk conditions.
