Back pain prevention is done at the mall. Thanks to an initiative promoted by the order of physiotherapists of Venice, Padua and Rovigo which next Sunday, on the occasion of the world physiotherapy day – this year dedicated to lumbago – willwill be present inside three of the most famous and popular shopping centers in the Veneto: Nave de Vero of Marghera, Le Brentelle of Rubano and The Farm of Rovigo.
Objective, inform and raise awareness among as many citizens as possible about daily precautions that can help prevent back pain, currently the leading cause of disability worldwide. According to estimates, about 9 out of 10 people experience it at least once in their lives, and in Italy at least 6 out of 10 individuals suffer from it every week.
“Low back pain is the most common musculoskeletal pain, Yet not many people know that it is possible to adopt self-protection measures that go under the name of correct lifestyles and can reduce the risk of suffering from back pain.These are educational measures to be used in the population at risk of health interestbut also in the non-risk population, in this last case of course we enter the educational field, so in addition to doctors and physiotherapists, other subjects such as graduates in motor sciences can be involved – says Angelo Papa, president of the Ofi of Venice, Padua and Rovigo – the purpose of our initiative is precisely to explain to people how to avoid the onset of back pain in everyday life: we will provide practical advice and propose simple exercises to do at home. Naturally with the necessary warnings. We are addressing adults but we also have specific programs for children, because the back must be protected already at school age”.
More generally, for the OFI of Venice, Padua and Rovigo the topic of prevention is closely linked to the (very current) issue of waiting lists in public health: “There are two ways to streamline them,” Papa comments, “the first is to increase the number of healthcare personnel, with all the budgetary problems that this entails; the second is to educate people about prevention when they are healthy, thus reducing the possibility that they will have to resort to healthcare services during their lifetime. As a professional association, we firmly believe that the latter is the most concrete and solid way to make our regional healthcare system more sustainable and accessible. In this regard, we also believe that completing the reform desired by the current regional government on the management of professions is of fundamental importance as a tool to ensure the safety of care on a management level.”
The initiative in the shopping centres will also allow the OFI of Venice, Padua and Rovigo to make the figure of the physiotherapist better known to the population: “The order was born in December 2022, so it is relatively youngbut we have been carrying out various activities in the area for some time now to ensure that more and more people know and recognize the quality and safety of the services that only a qualified physiotherapist can guarantee. Our commitment – concludes Papa – is aimed both at protecting the health of citizens and at promoting the growth and professional development of our members”.