World Spine Day. www.worldspineday.org

World Spine Day takes place on the 16th of October each year. This year it asks you to “Love your Spine”. The day is a reminder of the importance of spinal care and health by emphasising prevention with regular physical activity and good posture. Back pain is the biggest single cause of disability on the planet with 1 in 4 adults suffering at least one episode in their lives. Anyone who’s had back or neck pain knows how limiting it can be. It can affect our ability to work, to move and to play. Even young children are not exempt from back pain. World spine day also advocates for effective management among health professionals by promoting an evidence-based approach to contemporary spine care.

The aims of World Spine Day are to:

1) Raise awareness about spinal health and spine disorders within the interdisciplinary health care community and amongst public policy decision-makers and the general public;

2) To provide an opportunity for and encourage ongoing discussion about the burden of spinal disorders; and

3) To promote an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to easing the burden of spinal disorders.

Launched in January 2000 by an independent global non-profit organization (BJD). The BJD is composed of health professionals, organization representatives and patients from all parts of the globe with the stated goals: to improve the health-related quality of life for people with musculoskeletal disorders throughout the world; to reduce the social and financial cost of musculoskeletal disorders to society; to empower patients to make decisions about their care; to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment for all patients and to advance research on prevention and treatment.

The BJD recognizes that no single organization alone can accomplish the desired benefits for the patient. The Bone and Joint Decade is a multi-disciplinary initiative involving everyone concerned with the care of bone and joint disorders.

The BJD encompasses diseases associated with musculoskeletal disorders such as joint diseases, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, inflammatory arthropathies, back pain, spinal disorders, severe trauma to the extremities, crippling diseases and deformities in children as well as others.

The Chiropractic Association of South Africa’s members are offering complimentary spinal screenings to the public on Tuesday, 16 October 2018. You can visit www.chiropractic.co.za to find a chiropractor local to you.