October National Spinal Health Awareness Month…2 Important Questions
- Why would anyone besides a Chiropractor be interested in an entire month dedicated to Spinal Health Awareness?
- How does National Spinal Health Awareness Month tie into the Nokomis Chiropractic purpose statement?
First and Foremost….. the reason there is an entire month dedicated to spinal health awareness …. and why everyone should be at least a little bit interested in spinal health is…
-Every single person has a spine
-Back problems and back pain affect almost every person on the planet at some point in their life
Just like your heart is the key to your cardiovascular system and your brain is the key is your nervous system… your spine is the most important part of the physical frame of your body’s musculoskeletal system.
And, just like the heart and brain… we take them for granted ….until there is a problem and we realize how important they are to our ability to function and have a quality of life.
Your Spine is literally the Infrastructure of your body
It does several very important functions.
- It is the structural frame for our body
- It allows for the motion and movement of our body
- It protects the vital organ systems of the body
- It houses and protects our spinal cord and nerves
Prevalence of back problems
Because our spine is one of the most important structures of our body, it is also one of the hardest working structures of our body and therefore is more prone to wearing out and to injury than any other part of our body.
In fact:
- 80% of all people will experience a back problem at some time in their lives
- Low back pain is the single leading cause of disability worldwide
- Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work
- Back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections
- One-half of all working Americans admit to having back pain symptoms each year
- Americans spend at least $50 billion each year on back pain
Back pain is also the leading cause of doctors prescribing Opioid pain medication.
Making back problems one of the largest contributing causes for the Opioid epidemic in this country. Over 33,000 people in the US die each year from Opioid use and overdose.
The bottom line is that your spine is involved in every function, motion, movement and activity that you do.
We all know of someone who has had a spine problem.
…whether just a short-term low back pain “tweak,” a “nagging” chronic spinal degeneration, or a 
permanent spinal injury…
back and spine problems dramatically affect the quality of health and life of every person.
This is why there is an entire month dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of taking care of your back and having good posture.
…How does October Spinal Health Awareness tie into the Nokomis Chiropractic purpose statement?
Let’s start by looking at the Nokomis Chiropractic and Wellness Purpose:
“To help you express life to the fullest”
The quality of our life is dependent on our ability to have physical, mental, career, relationship and financial wellbeing… and each one of these components is dependent on the other.
-It is hard to have successful relationships if you are struggling with mental health.
-It is difficult to have financial security if you have lost your job.
-It is hard to go to work if you don’t have your physical health.
Because your spine is involved in every function, motion and activity that you do…. Spinal problems have an effect on your physical, mental, career, relationship and financial wellbeing… and therefore your ability to “express life to the fullest.”
Here is a list of just a few ways that our patients have told us that their back and spine problems had interfered with their ability to express life to the fullest.
- Not able to play on the floor with their children or grandchildren
- Can’t enjoy gardening or do yard work
- Not able to sit in the car for more than 1 hour at a time
- Can’t go on a bike ride with their kids
- Not able to walk more than a couple blocks
- Being grumpy and easily angered
- Can’t sleep because the pain wakes them up
- Not able to be intimate with their significant other
- Can’t focus or concentrate at work
- Don’t feel like going out and socializing
- Can’t hike or kayak anymore
- Can’t care for ageing spouse or parent
………Just to name a few.
That is why Nokomis Chiropractic is dedicated to providing the best Chiropractic service possible.
We literally get excited about helping a new patient in our office who has been suffering for years.
They have often tried everything else like medical doctors, physical therapy and specialists…. But yet they still have their back problem that is negatively affecting their quality of life in some way.
We know that if we can find the spinal problem….and we accept the patient for care…the patient will have a 90% (or better) chance of getting the relief and results that they have been looking for by using our unique approach.
We love it when our patients share their stories about how they are finally able to get back to being active and having the quality of life they have been missing out on.
Helping you Express Life to the Fullest… is what fuels our purpose and passion at Nokomis.
In the next articles, we will discuss
-What a normal healthy spines x-ray looks like and what do NOT normal x-rays look like
-How does our combination of Chiropractic and rehab get the best “long-term” results for our patients