Japanese

The research division of the Japanese Association of Chiropractors (JAC), the Japanese Society of Chiropractic Science, recently held its 14th annual conference in an online format

This year, the conference chair was Dr Yasunobu Takeyachi MD, DC, a graduate of National University of Health Sciences and qualified as both a chiropractor and an orthopaedic surgeon Dr Takeyachi's father, Kazuyoshi Takeyachi, was the first Japanese to have graduated from USchiropractic school after World War II in 1968

The theme of the 2023 conference was ?Integrative Healthcare in Rehabilitation?.

Prof Richard Brown, WFCSecretary-General gave a keynote address on the role of chiropractors in strengthening the provision of rehabilitation With the WFCbeing a founding member of the World Rehabilitation Alliance and involved in the Rehabilitation 2030 initiative since its inception in 2017, it is a strong advocate for rehabilitation in chiropractic practice

In April 2022, Integrative Medicine Program was established in Graduate School of Kanagawa Dental University, as the first integrative medical education in Japanese higher institutes. Professor Akira Kawashima, based at the university, is one of local pioneers of integrative medicine

He presented on the impact of artificial intelligence on integrative, complementary and alternative medicine. He stressed that with an increase in chronic diseases and the expansion of home care, integrated medicine is best suited and widely used

Mr Makoto Ohama, chairman of the Japan Spinal Cord Foundation who had a spinal cord injury while playing rugby, presented about regenerative medicine and rehabilitation, and explained how in regenerative medicine in spinal cord injury, various stem cells are transplanted into the spinal cord to repair the neural circuits of the spinal cord As a consequence of neuronal plasticity, rehabilitation is a critical element in recovery

Dr Takayuki Tomohiro who is a graduate of Los Angeles College of Chiropractic and a former intern trainer of Los Angeles Dodgers (Major League Baseball), presented a workshop of rehabilitation used in chiropractic practice on the basis of Dr Vladimir Janda?s approach

For more information, visit the Japanese Society of Chiropractic Science at https://www.chiropractic.or.jp/english/

A new Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 study estimates there will be over 800 million cases of low back pain in 2050, a 36 percent increase from 2020. With an ageing population, researchers say we must ?put the brakes?on low back pain cases before the burden becomes too great for our healthcare system

This is the most comprehensive and up-to-date available data that includes for the first time global projections and the contribution of GBD risk factors to low back pain The work was made possible by the joint efforts of lead author, Professor Manuela Ferreira fromSydney Musculoskeletal Health at the University of Sydney, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington?s School of Medicine (healthdata org), IHME?s international collaborators, and the Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health (gmusc.com). New WFCDisability and Rehabilitation Committee Chair, Dr. Katie de Luca, from CQUniversity was appointed as the lead, early career researcher on the low back pain systematic analysis, with Professor Jan Hartvigsen also a contributing author

The findings are published in the Lancet

Analysis of over 30 years of the GBD data has shown the number of cases of low back pain is growing, with modeling suggesting that by 2050,

843 million people will be affected by the condition, largely due to population increases and ageing of populations

The continued lack of a consistent approach on back pain treatment and limited treatment options have researchers concerned that this will lead to a healthcare crisis, as low back pain is the leading cause of disability in the world

In Australia, there will be a nearly 50 percent increase in cases by 2050 The landscape of back pain cases is set to shift, with the biggest increases to be in Asia and Africa.

The study reveals several milestones in back pain cases Since 2017, the number of low back pain cases has ticked over to more than half a billion people. And at least one third of the disability burden associated with back pain was attributable to occupational factors, smoking and being overweight

A widespread misconception is that low back pain mostly affects adults of working age. But researchers say this study has confirmed that low back pain is more common among older people Low back pain cases were also higher among females compared to males