The Bundaberg Region community is being encouraged to prioritise spinal wellness as part of 2024 Spinal Health Week, with the theme ‘spinal health for every body’.
Annually, the week focuses on a issue while promoting the importance of maintaining good spinal health to improve overall wellbeing.
The 2024 campaign, an initiative of the Australian Chiropractors Association, is centred on the causes of back pain and the negative effects back problems are having on Australians and the economy.
Back pain is the single leading cause of disability globally and can often lead to poorer quality of life, psychological distress or bodily pain.
If left untreated, back pain can sometimes lead to disability.
Dr David Cahill, President of the ACA, said the condition could be debilitating.
“For people who experience chronic back pain, their ability to participate in family, social, and work activities is often limited leading to negative impacts on both physical and mental health with significant costs to families, communities and Australia’s economy,” he said.
Back pain a global public health issue
According to the new World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline for non-surgical management of chronic primary low back pain in adults in primary and community care settings, lower back pain is a very common condition which the WHO has labelled a global public health issue.
Dr David Cahill, President of the ACA, welcomed the WHO’s first guideline aimed at addressing lower back pain in adults.
He said the results from the in-depth global research recommended non-surgical interventions be a fully integrated, drug-free, and through a person-centred approach such as chiropractic healthcare, to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for sufferers.
“With its findings focused on individualised holistic healthcare, the WHO’s research aligns with the heart of ACA’s chiropractic philosophy – that patient education and self-care strategies, tailored exercise programs and physical therapies including chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy, and massage can provide effective, evidence-based holistic drug-free solutions for back pain sufferers,” he said.
Keep your spinal health in check
Spinal Health Week runs from 20 to 26 May and a range of resources have been made available for toe wishing to find out more.
Download a free ACA back pain factsheet, stretching poster, the Straighten Up app or to register participation in Spinal Health Week, visit www.spinalhealthweek.org.au.
