5 Important Facts About The Spine & Spine Pain

By Author: Garima Anamdani
Total Articles: 38
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Why is the spinal cord and its health so important? The Spine, as most health experts will tell you, is instrumental to human health, strength and ability. You cannot conduct normal functions without a healthy, strong and flexible enough spine. In our busy day-to-day lives, it may not seem to have much significance. Here, however, are a few simple and surprising facts that will help you understand its importance and treat it right.

1. Lower back pain causes disability.
According to Global Burden of Diseases (2010), a study conducted by the WHO, lower back pain is one of the leading causes of disability. In fact, it is biggest cause of disability in the working population. The spinal column also includes 220 ligaments and contains 120 muscles. Even though backbones can sustain weight and pressure of hundreds of kilogram, enough stress can cause a huge amount of pain and problems.

2. Quit smoking for your spine.
The latest research exhibits a clear relationship between smoking cessation and pain relief for patients suffering from spinal disorders, axial and radicular pain. Whether you are young or old, ...
... if you stop smoking, your back pain would diminish. Spine health research also demonstrates that people, who continued smoking, did not experience spinal pain relief like the people in other group, who quit smoking.

3. Exercise right for your spine.
When it comes to spine, exercise is necessary. However, the right exercise can also lower your pain. In fact, experts need to prescribe the right exercise to ensure maximum effect. This is important for two reasons. Simple yet inaccurate exercises can harm the spine. Secondly, the right exercises can be advantageous to a patient’s health.

4. Diet affects your spine.
The right diet also help spine a lot. This can be a neglected element in spine treatment, though. If you are focusing on anti-inflammatory medication, though, it is important to ensure that your diet is anti-inflammatory as well. Saturated fats, animal proteins (except fish, cheese, yogurt), should be avoided as these ingredients heighten inflammation. So, increase the intake of Omega 3 and vegetable protein in your diet for better spinal health.

5. Very few spine clinics are available in developing countries.
Spine clinics are not rarity in developed countries. However, almost all the spine-related patients are being attended to by the local orthopaedic doctors and surgeons in developing countries. Thus, the lack of spine specialists is eminent in developing countries. As spine clinics open in Mumbai and New Delhi in India and Parana in Brazil, patients can finally get access to better standards of spinal treatment. These centres still haven’t penetrated developing countries globally, though. It’s essential to ensure that spine clinics in cities like Mumbai and Parana expand their reach and support patients in smaller cities and villages in nearby region because there are cases of death due to delay in the spine treatment in developing countries.

Dr Garima Anandani (P.T.), CMP, Dip. MDT
Head- Clinical Operations, Qi Spine Clinic
Dr Anandani is the first clinician from India to qualify for the prestigious Diploma in M.D.T. from The McKenzie Institute International and University of Otago. She has acquired specialized training in Spine rehabilitation from St David's Spine and Sports Therapy, Austin, Texas (USA) and from The Polyclinic, Seattle (USA). She is also one of the few Certified Mulligan Practitioners in India, with over 14 years of clinical experience in handling musculoskeletal disorders.