[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 164 (Monday, October 6, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E935]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNIZING OCTOBER AS NATIONAL SPINE HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH

                                  _____
                                 

                        HON. JAMES R. WALKINSHAW

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 6, 2025

  Mr. WALKINSHAW. 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. For over two decades, the Foundation has 
increased 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.
  To further address the complex challenges of spinal health, the 
Foundation has created four specialized task forces led by experts in 
their fields.
  The Opioid Task Force which has advanced research on minimizing 
opioid use while still optimizing pain relief.
  The Bone Health Task Force promotes bone health screening protocols, 
research, and public education.
  The Military & Veterans Task Force works to ensure that service 
members and veterans receive advanced, appropriate spine care.
  Finally, the Motion Preservation Task Force ensures patients and 
providers have access to lifechanging motion-preserving procedures, 
focusing on artificial disc replacement.
  The Foundation continues to be strongly committed to spine health 
research. Patient reported outcomes have long been part of fabric of 
NSHF since its inception. As they are deeply invested in supporting 
evidence-based healthcare decisionmaking, 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, a 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 and thanking the NSHF and the 
healthcare providers who help spine and neck patients, not just in 
October, but all year long.

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