October 13, 2021 Jennifer Crowley

Is Your Spine Holding You Back?

World Spine Day is marked on October 16th each year with the goal of motivating and creating awareness about the burden of spinal pain and disability. With an estimated 1 billion people suffering with low back pain at any given time, it remains the leading cause of years lived with a disability.

In light of the pandemic and the resulting social restrictions and lockdowns have resulted in the majority to have insufficient or improper facilities to comfortable work for a prolonged duration - this can result in detrimental effects on spinal health and strength.

The World Spine Day theme for 2021 is therefore BACK 2 BACK: focusing on highlighting ways in which people can help their spines by staying mobile, avoiding physical inactivity, not overloading their spines and adopting healthy habits such as weight loss and smoking cessation.

As an official supporter of World Spine Day, C6.ca aims to help you straighten up and move with some helpful tips and resources to prevent back pain:

	Maintain a healthy diet and weight.
	Remain active—under the supervision of your health professional.
	Avoid prolonged inactivity or bed rest.
	Warm up or stretch before exercising or physical activities, such as gardening.
	Maintain proper posture.
	Wear comfortable, low-heeled shoes.
	Sleep on a mattress of medium firmness to minimize any curve in your spine.
	Lift with your knees, keep the object close to your body, and do not twist when lifting.
	Quit smoking. Smoking impairs blood flow, resulting in oxygen and nutrient deprivation to spinal tissues.
	Work with your doctor of chiropractic to ensure that your computer workstation is ergonomically correct.