Chairman, Department of Neurosurgeon, Ochsner Health Systems, United States, Prof. Wale Sulaiman, has said that about 80 per cent of the population of many countries, including Nigeria, may have back pain or spine problems if adequate proactive measures are not taken to guard against such development.

He spoke during a free spine surgery mission of the Kwara State Government and the Nuvasive Spine Foundation, US, in Ilorin on Monday.

He identified some causes of spine problems to include natural ageing process called degenerative spine disease or arthritis in the spine; and trauma or spine fracture resulting from auto-accidents.

Sulaiman said, "There are so many different causes of spine problems. In many countries, including Nigeria, about 80 per cent of the population may have back pain at any given time in their life time."

"In developing countries, we have a lot of trauma. People may be thrown out of the car during auto accident and fracture their spines. When the spine is fractured, the victim can be paralysed for the rest of his life from the neck down or from the waist down.

He urged people to avoid obesity and smoking, while encouraging people to engage in regular physical exercise.

A representative of Nuvasive Spine Foundation, Mr. Pitchov Malaba, said the foundation's partnership with the state government was an attempt to save more lives.

The Kwara State Commissioner for Health, Mr. Kayode Issa, said the free surgery was one of the strides of the state government to boost health delivery.

The Special Assistant to the state governor on Secondary and Tertiary Health, Dr. Ibrahim Gambari, said the free spine surgery was another avenue through which the government reached out to the less privileged who cannot afford such an expensive surgery.