Taking place on October 16 each year, World Spine Day is the world’s largest public health event organized to raise awareness of spinal disorders and the global burden of spinal pain and disability.

With health professionals, exercise and rehabilitation experts, public health advocates, schoolchildren, governments and patients all taking part, World Spine Day is celebrated on every continent!

The 2023 campaign calls on people to care for their spines by staying active. Evidence has shown that immobility and a lack of physical activity are contributors to spinal pain and disability. “Move Your Spine” encourages people of all ages, in all nations, to get active and support their spinal health through movement.

An estimated one billion people suffer with spinal pain with 540 million people at any one time. Low back pain remains the leading cause of years lived with disability on the planet. Spinal pain and disability are more prevalent than cancer, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s Disease combined.

Populations in many low- and middle-income countries often have limited or no access to conventional healthcare resources or dedicated spinal health professionals. Supporting populations and communities in self-managing their conditions is therefore paramount. Even in high-income countries, back pain afflicts millions of people resulting in an enormous impact on industry and the economy. Effective management and prevention are therefore key, and this year’s World Spine Day will be encouraging movement as part of this strategy.

World Spine Day calls for greater global commitment to tackling spinal pain and disability by governments, communities, and public health bodies.

For spine health experts, World Spine Day provides a perfect opportunity to meaningfully contribute and proactively participate in their communities.

“Move Your Spine” (#MoveYourSpine) will focus attention on the diverse nature of spinal pain and disability at home, in the workplace, in schools and in our communities while addressing movement across the life course. It will highlight ways in which all people, from all backgrounds can help their spines by staying mobile, avoiding physical inactivity, not overloading their spines, and adopting healthy habits such as weight loss and smoking cessation.

World Spine Day organizing committee co-chair, Dr Rebekah Wilks, said, “Public health initiatives like World Spine Day are critical in raising awareness, providing information and empowering the public to care for their spines. National and international back pain guidelines frequently highlight the need to remain active and avoid bedrest when suffering from back pain. This year, we want the world to move their spines!”
We call on everyone worldwide to get involved in World Spine Day 2023’s Move Your Spine campaign.

To find out more, go to www.worldspineday.org, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.