By Susan Aldridge, PhD
A new study shows that lower back pain is a serious problem in rural communities in Tibet.
Public health strategies in developing countries often focus on infectious diseases, such as those borne by dirty water. But people in such communities also have many of the health problems we face in the West. For instance, researchers in Melbourne, Australia, report that lower back pain is a significant problem among rural communities in Tibet.
They investigated a group of 500 adults from 19 Tibetan villages. One third had lower back pain at the time of the interview, while 40 per cent had experienced lower back pain in the previous 12 months. Of those with back pain, 20 per cent had significant disability – being unable to carry out key tasks like fetching water or harvesting.
The researchers noted that people tended not to bend their knees when doing ground level tasks, which would surely increase the risk of back pain. So local health workers will now advise people about safer lifting and bending. And a ‘back happy’ tap-stand has been introduced so people can fill heavy water containers without straining their backs.
