World Spine Day 2022

World Spine Day is celebrated globally on the 16th of October every year. This day is celebrated to raise and spread awareness about various spine conditions and the disabilities caused due to them. World Spine Day is also celebrated to educate people about the preventive measures to follow to maintain good spine health. The theme for World Spine Day 2022 is Every Spine Counts. 

Are you aware that an estimated 540 million people suffer from lower back pain at any time globally, making it the leading cause behind years lived with a disability?

To create awareness, let’s see the symptoms of spine problems and the top 10 tips for maintaining spine health. 

Watch Out For The Following Symptoms Of Spine Conditions

The symptoms of spine conditions depend upon the type of spine disorder and the area of the spine or spinal cord affected. However, in a person suffering from a spine condition, the following common symptoms are seen:

• Back or neck pain that can be piercing, dull, or burning
• Restricted motion
• Stiffness or tightness in the lower back
• Weakness, numbness, or tingling feeling in the arms, legs or both
• Loss of bowel or urinary control
• Shoulder or back looking abnormally rounded
• Uneven appearance like a shoulder or hip looking higher than other

Top 10 Tips For Maintaining Spine Health

1. Exercise: Regular exercise is essential for good spine health. A basic workout regime that strengthens and stretches the back, hamstrings, and abdominal muscles are enough. Exercise can also help in the rehabilitation of an injured spine. Exercising will help in better healing and recovery of the spine. You can take assistance from a physical therapist or your healthcare provider to devise a good exercise routine to help maintain good spine health.

2. Check out your posture: A proper sitting posture is seldom practiced. But posture plays a huge part in spine health. As the spine naturally curves, it is important to take care of the posture. This is because improper posture while sitting may cause damage to the sensitive spinal nerves. Hence, it is important to maintain a proper posture, especially if you are working at a job that requires a lot of sitting.

3. Watch what you eat: A clean healthy diet is essential for a healthy spine. Include fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, etc., in your daily diet. Eat foods rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. You can also seek help from a doctor or a dietician to make a diet chart for you to follow for a healthy spine.

4. Get yourself a massage: A good back massage can do wonders as it helps increase blood circulation, loosens tight muscles, and relieves stress by making a person feel relaxed.

5. Build and practice good ergonomics when sitting: Sitting for a prolonged period can put a lot of load on your lower spine discs and give you back pain. Practicing good ergonomics while sitting, like maintaining proper posture, selecting the right chair, avoiding prolonged sitting by taking short breaks and standing up for some time, and adjusting the computer height and brightness, can help support the back and reduce back pain.

6. Invest in good shoes: The shoes you use are important to support your lower back. Good shoes are essential for proper alignment of the body and spine as it helps in providing a supportive base to the feet. Wearing good shoes is important to promote spine health.

7. Relax your spine while sleeping: Lying down to sleep is the correct time to destress. Proper mattresses and pillows are essential to let the spine rest in a comfortable and supportive position. It is also important to position your spine properly while sleeping to achieve good spine health. 

8. Keep moving: Being seated for too long or remaining in the same posture or position for a prolonged time can strain the back. It is important to keep moving by walking or stretching from time to time to improve spine health. 

9. Be careful while lifting heavy loads: Straining the back is common while lifting heavy objects. But improper posture while lifting heavy items can cause more harm than just strain. It can cause the locking of the spinal joints or the rupture of spinal discs. Hence, using the right technique for lifting heavy objects is important for spine health.

10. Say no to smoking: Smoking can greatly impact spine health. Prolonged smoking can cause various issues to the spine. For example, it can lead to degeneration, bulging, or rupture of the spinal discs; smoking can also delay wound healing in a patient who has undergone spinal surgery, etc.

Wrap Up

While the spine and its health is the last thing on our mind, it is something not to be ignored. This World Spine Day 2022 raises awareness about spine health and how important and impactful everyday activities like exercising, eating healthy, using the correct posture, or not smoking are for spine health. Create awareness among your kith and kin to celebrate this World Spine Day 2022 with one aim, EVERY SPINE COUNTS.