October Brings Awareness to Spinal, Joint, and Bone Health

We have all seen the tradition of NFL players wearing pink during the month of October to promote Breast Cancer Awareness; however, what is missing from mainstream media and pop-culture is that October is also Spinal Health Month. Spinal Health Month is an initiative of the Bone & Joint Decade, an organization founded to raise public awareness of musculoskeletal disorders, as well as to urge national governments to take action on the growing epidemic of spinal and NMS problems.

The week of October 12-20 is Bone and Joint National Awareness Week, which includes five specific days dedicated to raising awareness. Those days are:

October 12 – World Arthritis Day
October 16 – World Spine Day
October 17 – World Trauma Day
October 19 – World Pediatric Bone and Joint (PB&J) Day
October 20 – World Osteoporosis Day

According to a 2011 study by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, nearly half of American adults – roughly 48 percent – are affected by musculoskeletal maladies. While projects such as the Bone & Joint Decade have helped to raise awareness on a national level, it is our job as PostureProfessionals to spread the word to our patients and clients, as well as our larger communities.

For World Spine Day on October 16, organize a Posture Screening at your practice, clinic, or in your community. To help you better promote World Spine Day, we created a free poster to print out and post at your clinic and around your communities. We have also offer a vertical Posture Screening Banner to help you stand out at community functions and in your office park.

Pain is not normal… and people in pain learn to move differently. Empowering those suffering with musculoskeletal pain can begin with benchmarking how they stand and move, and then retraining them to Stand Taller and Move Stronger. Join us this October and support Posture Awareness as a first step for people for whom living in pain is “normal” towards living pain-free.