Today is World Spine Day. This day was created by the World Federation of Chiropractic to raise awareness about spinal health, how to prevent spinal injuries, and the most effective way to manage spinal care. According to Spinal Cord Injuries Australia, approximately 15,000 people in Australia are living with a spinal cord injury, and around 350 people are affected by a spinal cord injury, disorder, or condition every year. The effects of living with a spinal cord injury can have a major impairment on the body’s many crucial functions, such as movement, sensation, blood control, and bowel and bladder function, which may often be taken for granted. The spine is critical to our body’s functioning, and it’s important we protect our spines in the home, out and about, and in the workplace. Our spine is one of the most crucial puzzle pieces to our body, and there are techniques for protecting our spines while at work.
For many people in Australia, your job may place a large amount of workplace stress on your back. Regardless of your work environment, if you suffer from a spinal injury due to work, this may have been caused by either repetition from vigorous or repetitive movement, or force on your body, or inactivity from a poor posture. If your spine is damaged from a repetition injury, this may be due to your spine performing a variety of the same movements throughout the day. Our bodies are not designed to perform the same repetitive movement all day, but to change the tune of our movement throughout the day. If your spine is damaged due to a force injury, this may be because of too much stress placed on your back due to various heavy lifting, or through lifting using a poor moving technique. If your spine is damaged from an inactivity injury, it may be because certain areas of your spine may have weakened due to a poor posture at the desk, or while standing.
To effectively protect your spine against repetition injuries, try to switch up your work duties throughout the day, rather than working on the same activity, such as switching up from using a jackhammer to loading equipment off a truck instead. Where your job involves moving and lifting various items, actively practice using the proper lifting technique. To practice the proper lifting technique, keep a wide base of support with your feet, squat down while bending at the knees, keep a good posture by looking straight ahead and keeping your back straight, slowly lift using your hips and knees, and lead with your hips when carrying and walking with the object to protect your spine. If your job involves being positioned at a desk for the majority of the day, an efficient technique to protect your spine from inactivity injuries is to get up and stretch your body throughout the day, and to keep a straight back while avoiding slouching or leaning towards your desk while working.
Whether your work is based on a computer, selling products, building a house, or teaching children, there is an element of risk within any job of developing a spinal injury in the workplace. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 16 percent of the population in Australia has experienced some form of general back pain. Despite what type of job you perform, there are preventative techniques you can implement in the workplace to protect your spine, such as exercising your core body muscles two to three times a week to protect your spine through sit-ups and crunch exercises. In the office, create an ergonomic set-up that is comfortable for you and your body, such as, you could consider a sit-to-stand desk, an ergonomic chair that suits your body measurements, and office equipment that complements your body. Throughout the workday, remember to take a short break every now and then through either stretching for a minute or two, or taking a short walk to energise and revitalise your spine.
The spine is our body’s central support system, and it is crucial that we protect our spine in order to properly protect our whole body. It may be challenging in knowing how to protect our spine, especially in the workplace, but through utilising an ergonomic arrangement suited to your body, stretching and exercising, and switching up your work duties throughout the day, this may aid your body to further protect your spine in the workplace. This year for World Spine Day, you can become involved by sharing on Facebook your post of World Spine Day, reading online resources from World Spine Day about spinal injuries, or submitting a video or photo online sharing your spinal injury story to the World Spine Day website.
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