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83pc health workers

She made this observation while delivering a lecture at Rashid Hospital Library auditorium during the ‘To Be Free’ (TBF) campaign organised by the third year medical students of the Dubai Medical College for Girls.

The campaign kicked off yesterday and is being held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences.

Hadiel Azzam, General Director of the TBF campaign and students’ representative, said, “The campaign is being held to spread awareness on health education as well as a healthy lifestyle. We are encouraging medical students to take the initial steps that could later be passed on to their families and the community in general. We are also talking about the risk factors linked to an unhealthy lifestyle, including cardiovascular diseases. We are encouraging the medical students to modify their lifestyle.”

Dr Jennifer Crabbe said that lack of exercise was the main cause of lower back pain. “The problem is more common in women in the Middle East, including medical students and healthworkers,” she added.

Giving statistics based on a survey, Dr Crabbe said that 80 per cent of the population was bound to have a backache once in their lifetime out of which 35 per cent is lower back pain. She said that acute lower back pain could be cured in two weeks, but could also turn chronic if not treated.

“Walking for women in the Middle East is important because they need to increase their bone density,” she said. She also said that it was healthy for girls aged 10-12 and boys 12-14 to jump so as to keep their bones healthy.

• UAE