According
to a study from the UNC school of Medicine, “more than 80 percent
of Americans will experience an episode of low back pain at some time
in their lives and that total costs of the condition are estimated at
greater than $100 billion annually, with two-thirds of that due to
decreased wages and productivity.” Wow, that’s a scary thing to
think about. The most staggering part of this is not that 80% of
people will experience low back pain (not to mention the number that
will experience neck or mid-back pain) but it’s the lost wages and
productivity that this burden puts on US employees and the economy.
You may be saying that you can take the pain but can you afford to
take the financial loss that you may encounter from not taking care
of your spine and discs. According to new research, low back pain is
now the leading cause of disability worldwide and accounts for nearly
one third of work-related disability. Have you ever thought that your
pain could lead to bankruptcy? Harvard Medical School found that
medical bankruptcies now account for 62% of all bankruptcies.
Terrible to think that people work most of their lives to earn an
income but retirement can be ruined by poor health.
The
Dalai Lama was asked what surprised him about humanity the most, the
Dalai Lama replied:
“Man.
Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he
sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious
about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being
that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he
is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”
These
are words that carry a deep meaning for most Americans who can relate
to this topic. So, if total low back pain related cost in America is
$100 billion with some estimates closer to $200 billion a year, why
haven’t we heard of the importance of maintaining a healthy spine?
We know that brushing our teeth is good and slows tooth decay. We
know that proper up keep of anything helps prevent deterioration so
it’s obviously time that we start to think about taking better care
of our spines.
What
is the last thing you did for the health of your spine? If you’re
thinking about it, then chances are you haven’t done much to
improve the health of your spine or possibly you didn’t even know
you needed to do anything for your spinal health. The fact is, we
all know someone, either a loved one, coworker, or a friend who
suffers with back pain.
If
you want to know what can be done to help you maintain the health of
your and your family’s spines click below!
No comments:
Post a Comment