Recognizing October As National Spine Health Awareness Month

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Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask that my colleagues join me in recognizing October as National Spine Health Awareness Month.

In the U.S. 100 million people suffer from neck or back conditions every year according to the CDC. Back pain is the number one cause of missed workdays, the leading cause of job-related disability and pain in the U.S., and the most common non-cancer related reason for an opioid prescription in the U.S. In addition, those with back and neck pain are four times more likely to become clinically depressed.

The National Spine Health Foundation located in my district in Reston, Virginia, is the only national patient-centered non-profit dedicated to helping patients overcome debilitating spinal conditions and take back their lives. During the past 5 years, the Foundation has renewed its commitment to and has developed award winning patient education, advocacy, and research work to give patients the tools they need to make informed decisions about their spine health and navigate their own treatment journeys with confidence.

I would like to congratulate the National Spine Health Foundation on its award-winning year in patient education and clinical research. NSHF received a 2023 Digital Health Award for its patient education videos, the E Healthcare Leadership Award for best healthcare podcast, and the Global Spine Congress award for best research paper for work on examining augmented reality for improving spine surgery. In addition, NSHF received the best paper award from the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery for their work on the nation's only prospective, multi-center spine robotic surgery study.

The Foundation is strongly committed to spine health research. Patient reported outcomes have been part of the fabric of NSHF since its inception. As they are deeply invested in supporting evidence-based health care decision making, it is important to be part of the process of creating the evidence. Their cloud-based research tool called `Spine-online' enables them to conduct multi-center studies and partner with research teams both in the U.S. and internationally. Active studies are currently occurring on robotic surgery, enhanced surgical recovery, augmented reality, genetic basis for personalized spine treatments, stem cell therapy, and more.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in recognizing the importance of good spinal health, supporting individuals who suffer from spinal issues, and thanking the NSHF and the health care providers who help not just in October, but all year long.

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