May 30, 2019

For immediate release

PRESS RELEASE

Low back pain is the leading cause of years lived with disability on the planet. Neck pain is the sixth most common. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 74% of years lived with disability are the result of health conditions that may benefit from rehabilitation, yet the global need for rehabilitation is unmet, especially in low- and middle- income countries (1).  

The WFC’s Disability and Rehabilitation Committee (DRC) encourages the engagement of chiropractors in matters relating to disability prevention and rehabilitation. As spine and musculoskeletal care experts, chiropractors are well-placed to assess the needs of patients and support them in self-management, lifestyle advice and dedicated rehabilitation.

Following a call from WHO to contribute to the Rehabilitation 2030: A Call To Action campaign, the WFC DRC created and submitted a rehabilitation competency framework. This has now been published in Chiropractic and Manual Therapies.

Chair of the WFC DRC, Professor Pierre Côté (pictured) commented: “Chiropractors have an important role to play in both preventing disability and actively engaging in rehabilitation for their patients. We hope that this new framework will be adopted by chiropractic educational institutions and organizations as a model for empowering clinicians in the care of their patients.”  

Reference:
(1) World Health Organization (2018) Need to scale up rehabilitation. https://www.who.int/disabilities/care/Need-to-scale-up-rehab-July2018.pdf?ua=1