Tuesday, October 16, 2007, was World Spine Day, as declared by the “Bone and Joint Decade” (BJD) and endorsed by World Health Organization and the U.S. President’s Council on Fitness among other organizations.
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Photo, right: Dr. Rosado with
Viviana Waggoner (right) and Ron Kirk (left).
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Bennet. |
The day featured “Straighten Up” as its theme. The Straighten Up program, which started as “Straighten up America,” has been brought worldwide, primarily through the efforts of Dr. Ron Kirk of Life University. The program was developed by researchers from a variety of related professions around the globe. It comprises a simple set of exercises to teach, primarily, the children of the world to prevent spinal injury, a leading cause of missed work and health-care expense.
Doctors of chiropractic, chiropractic associations and chiropractic faculty around the world participated in “World Spine Day” by focusing on promoting spinal health and empowering the public by educating patients, schoolchildren, and the media regarding the necessity of positive spinal health habits.
Some of the memorable global events which occurred on World Spine Day are described here:
| CNN En Español
On CNN “En Español,” Life University faculty member, Dr. Milagros Rosado, educated the Spanish-speaking community around the world about the importance of spinal health. In a live interview with award-winning CNN Español anchor, Claudia Palacios, Dr. Milagros Rosado did a superb job of explaining the importance of maintaining excellent posture and living the chiropractic lifestyle. This was a global communications breakthrough for the profession!
Dr. Rosado briefly demonstrated a “Straighten Up Posture Pod” exercise, and explained the significance of the Rancho Bernardo posture studies. These landmark studies, conducted by gerontologists at UCLA, demonstrate a correlation between poor stooped posture and increased mortality, functional disabilities and increased independent risk for osteoporotic fractures. In a split-screen telecast, while Straighten Up exercises were simultaneously demonstrated, Dr. Rosado explained the importance of healthy lifestyle habits, focusing on excellent eating, appropriate exercise, and regular spinal checkups and care by a doctor of chiropractic.
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| Kansas City
In a related breakthrough World Spine Day opportunity, Dr. Jeff Miller and intern Christy Metz from the Clinics at Cleveland Chiropractic College, Kansas City, demonstrated Straighten Up exercises on Kansas City’s NBC television affiliate, KSHB. During a live interview on “Kansas City’s Kids,” a program aimed at empowering children through healthy lifestyles, Dr. Miller addressed the high prevalence of spinal disability and the necessity of preventive intervention beginning in childhood. In a fun-filled session, Christy’s child, Haley, demonstrated the Tilting Star, Hummingbird and Banging the Gong exercises from Straighten Up.
International
On the international scene the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia helped to host the Bone and Joint Decade’s World Network Conference and Patient Advocacy Seminar during the BJD’s National Action Week.
In Korea, the Korean Chiropractic Association (KCA) held its annual symposium, which was well attended by doctors of chiropractic, educators, students and supporters. Presenters included David Chapman-Smith, secretary general of the World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) and a noted international spokesperson for chiropractic, Dr. Robert Scott, vice provost of Life University in Marietta, and Dr. Carol Lynn Grubstad, MEd, DC, a 30-year veteran of chiropractic practice.
Other exciting World Spine Day developments included chiropractic associations in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Cyprus launching new Straighten Up initiatives and a new website.
Share in the Vision
Join the breakthroughs in the US, Australia, Great Britain, Sweden, Cyprus, Hong Kong, South Africa, Korea, India, Canada and many other nations around the globe. Propelled by a vision of empowerment and public service, the chiropractic profession and Straighten Up are on the move.
Check out www.chirotoolbox.straightenupamerica.org to learn how you can empower your practice, your association and the public.
It takes all of us to make a maximal impact in improving the quality of our lives!
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