Musculoskeletal Disabilities Are Huge Burden On Society

Low back pain is the number-one cause of disability worldwide. Neck pain is the forth most common cause of disability. People are living longer and disability is having a bigger impact on healthcare and the society than in the past. It has been estimated that musculoskeletal conditions such as neck pain, back pain, and arthritis affect more than 1.7 billion people.

Years lived with disability (TLDs) is defined as the sum of the years of potential life lost due to premature death and the years lost of productivity due to a disability. Musculoskeletal conditions like neck pain and back pain account for 21.3 percent of all years lost to disability (YLDs). When we look at the burden caused by disease, low back pain is the 6th most important contributor to the disease burden. Neck pain is the 21st largest contributor to the global burden caused by disease.

Clearly taking care of your spine is important to your individual health as well as the worldwide societal burden caused by spinal problems. Exercise, especial exercise that challenges your balance helps prevent degenerative changes to your joints and keeps your muscles strong. Abnormal movement of individual vertebra contribute to excessive degenerative changes in the spine. Excessive movement of joints increases this wear and tear arthritis called osteoarthritis. Decreased or abnormal movement of spinal joints, called subluxations, also accelerates degenerative changes in the discs and the joints. Your doctor of chiropractic works to improve normal motion in your joints to help slow down this wear and tear process. Preventing small problems from becoming big problems is key to keeping your spine healthy.

Greg L. Crawford D.C., D.A.B.C.O. Foothills Chiropractic, 1337 East Prospect Road Fort Collins, CO 80525 (970) 493-2105 http://ftcollinschiropractor.com