“Straighten Up and Move”

The theme “Straighten Up and Move” emphasizes the importance of healthy spinal posture and activity which promotes body awareness and minimizes the day-to-day wear and tear on a person’s spine.  The theme of posture and movement supports the BJD’s Vision of “Keep People Moving”.  The intent of WSD is to bring people from all walks of life – patients, health providers, health care organizations, associations and governments to help ease this global burden.  In order to gain momentum and effectively do this, we need to work collaboratively together in the prevention and management of these types of disorders.

The Straighten Up and Move program originally developed in 2004, was embraced and promoted by the Bone and Joint Decade in 2006 and well received by leaders of the World Health Organization in 2006 .The Straighten Up and Move program is a bold and innovative health promotion initiative designed to empower people everywhere toward better spinal health and an improved quality of life. It is aimed at people of all ages, genders and cultures, with materials appropriate to age range.  Straighten Up and Move uses pictorial images and also has its content translated into many languages including (French, German, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Swedish among others).

Consisting of a series of simple exercises and lifestyle recommendations taking just minutes each day to complete, Straighten Up and Move modules promote the improvement of posture and body core stabilization to help in the prevention of spinal conditions. They are easy and fun and can be completed quickly as a regular day-to-day preventative health practice.  The 2-3 minute routines can help improve and prevent poor posture, which is a common trigger for general back and neck pain and can be undertaken by all ages.