CAI ‘Straighten Up Ireland’ survey reveals:
- 72 per cent suffer from back, neck or shoulder pain
- Almost half of respondents admit to poor posture
- Two fifths regularly slouch when sitting or standing
The Chiropractic Association of Ireland (CAI) is encouraging Irish adults and children to ‘straighten up’ during the fourth annual Straighten Up Ireland Week. The campaign begins today, Monday 15th and incorporates World Spine Day on Tuesday, 16th October. Straighten Up Ireland is a posture care programme that aims to raise awareness of spinal health and improve posture to help people to look and feel their best.
As part of Straighten Up Ireland Week, the CAI will be highlighting a series of simple everyday exercises, which take only three minutes to complete and act to improve posture, stabilise core muscles, enhance health and help prevent spinal disability. The exercises can be undertaken by people of all ages with a special program tailored for children.
According to the annual Straighten Up Ireland survey, 91 per cent of respondents claim to be aware that correct posture improves overall health and wellbeing. Despite this, over a half (51 per cent) admit they are only conscious of sitting and standing up straight‘sometimes’, with 8 per cent saying they are not aware of it at all.
38 per cent ‘regularly’ slouch when standing or sitting, with over half (58 per cent), admitting occasional lapses in good posture. Only 4 per cent claim to have perfect posture at all times.
One fifth of those surveyed (21 per cent) experience regular back, neck, and/or shoulder pain, with almost three quarters (72 per cent) occasionally suffering from one or more of these complaints.
Dr. Siobhan Guiry, President of the CAI commented: “Approximately 80% of the population in Ireland will experience at least one episode of back pain in their life time. Poor posture is one of its most common causes. This can be linked to a number of reasons such as carrying heavy bags or prolonged sitting in a bad position at school, work, while watching TV or using a computer. As a result, millions of Euro is wasted in Ireland every year due to a decreased ability to work efficiently and absenteeism, not to mention the pain and disability that people go through.”
Guiry continued: “With the Straighten Up Ireland campaign, we hope to emphasise the importance of good posture and its related health benefits, as well as educating everyone about the potential short and long term implications of poor posture. We are encouraging individuals of all ages to ‘straighten up’ and invest three minutes a day in their spinal health and wellbeing.”
The week long campaign will see numerous national and local events take place throughout the country. Chiropractors will be out and about in their communities visiting schools and workplaces to demonstrate the exercises and provide tips and information on how to improve spinal health. There will also be a number of free screenings, seminars andinformation evenings throughout the week.
The Straighten-Up campaign originated from a chiropractic university in America. It was designed in collaboration with a team of leading health experts and is endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Bone and Joint Decade.
Please visit www.chiropractic.ie for more information on the Chiropractic Association of Ireland and Straighten Up Ireland Week. Information leaflets advising how to do the exercises are also available for download.