NANGANGAILANGAN din ng wastong pangangalaga ang spine o gulugod, gaya ng pag-aalaga sa puso at utak, pahayag ng health expert nitong Martes, kaugnay ng selebrasyon ng World Spine Day.

“The back or the spine is as important as the other organs because damage to it can limit your productivity, mobility, quality of life,” pahayag ni Philippine Rheumatology Association president Julie Li-Yu sa Philippine News Agency (PNA) nang kapanayamin.

Ayon kay Julie, ang wastong pangangalaga sa spine ay maaaring magsimula sa wastong konsultasyon sakaling sumakit ang likod, dahil hindi magkakapareho ang lahat ng uri ng pananakit ng likod.

“Back pain is the number one consult of patients to us. In fact, we have a lot of working people, retirees, studying teens, working early adults telling us about back pain. This is the challenge to us and general care practitioners. For the back pain, we have to be vigilant as to who among those with back pain needs to be seen by specialists,” aniya.

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Ipinagdiinan din niya na ang ilang pain na nararamdaman ay hindi “mechanical” o kaya naman ay sanhi ng mabibigat na aktibiada, at aniya, hindi dapat na iasa ng mga taong nanakit ang likod ang paggaling ng kanilang nararamdaman sa mga pain reliever.

“That’s the standard if there is a pain you want to be relieved somehow. I don’t think it’s wrong. What makes it wrong is you tend to neglect that these pain medicines are not working, that you don’t consult proper authorities about this,” dagdag pa niya.

Ayon kay Julie, kapag ang nararamdamang sakit sa likod ng isang tao ay tumagal ng tatlong buwan, maaaring mayroon na itong seryosong sakit sa spine, gaya ng Ankylosing Spondylitis, isang uri ng arthritis na spine ang naaapektuhan.

“Iba naman kapag may deformities, like scoliosis can also cause back pain. Nonetheless, if the pain has been nagging you for months, you need to think because that is already enough time for you to see a specialist,” aniya pa.

Maliban na lang kung ang isang tao ay may disability o malalang back problem, ipinayo ni Julie na makatutulong ang pag-e-ehersisyo para palakasin ang likod o ang spine.

“Exercise can help your back greatly. Even for people with inflammatory back pain, exercise could be part of the treatment, but you need to know the contraindications for you to do exercise,” dagdag pa niya.

Kabilang umano sa wastong pangangalaga sa spine ang pagpapanatili ng tamang postura kapag nakatayo o kaya naman ay nakaupo, at matulog na kumportable ang posisyon.

“Make sure that there is a proper cushion or mattress where you lie down. Don’t use a very saggy mattress,” sabi pa ni Julie.