News

Live healthy lifestyle to protect spine and back

Ghanaians have been urged to live healthy lifestyle that protects their spine and back. In a social media campaign dubbed “We Got Your Back,” Physiotherapist at Nadkof Physiotherapy and Wellness Center, Darlene Marfo said the campaign wouldeducate citizens about the causes of back pain and what they can do to prevent back injuries.

The campaign is also expected to focus on senior citizens, who are usually prone to back problems and ways to get them to do the right exercises to protect their back.

In an interview with the Ghanaian Times, Madam Marfo said, with the campaign being run with the hashtag #WeGotYourBack,  the public was advised to take the opportunity and seek free consultation on all back problems from March 1 -March 31, 2023.

Back pain she said was one of the most common medical problems worldwide and may be experienced as a dull, constant ache or as a sudden, sharp, excruciating pain.

“Back pain is the type of pain that is usually felt in the back. Depending on the affected area, it may be categorized as neck pain (cervical), middle back pain (thoracic), lower back pain (lumbar), or coccydynia (tailbone or sacral pain).  The lumbar region remained the most commonly affected area when one experienced back pain adding that   it may be acute, sub-acute, or chronic, depending on the duration of the pain.

“Back pain is so common that, according to research, as many as 95 per cent of people experience it at some point in their lives. It is the most common cause of chronic pain and a major contributor to missed work hours and discomfort.” Madam Dalene stated.

She said for many, back pain was self-limiting and had been found that nine out of ten adults and five out of 10 working adults experienced this at some point in their lives saying” many people who have back pain don’t have severe, long-term pain; rather, they have mild.

Such pain she said may be felt as mild pain, a shooting pain, or a piercing sensation. The pain, at times, may extend to the legs and arms.

Madam Marfo said idiopathic, nonspecific back pain accounted for the greater number of back pain cases. Typical underlying processes include traumatic or degenerative alterations to the discs and facet joints, which could subsequently result in pain to the bones, joints, and extremities, as well as secondary pain in the muscles and nerves.

Back pain could also be brought on by conditions and inflammation affecting the gallbladder, pancreas, aorta, and kidneys.

BY BENEDICTA GYIMAAH FOLLEY

Show More
Back to top button