Why Tribal Women are Suffering from Spine Problems
Rural women most exposed to Spine Disorders?
Women in India’s isolated tribal areas have an unimaginable load—both literally and figuratively. Their day-to-day life is centered around physically exhausting activities: walking with heavy water pots, hand-grinding cereals, collecting firewood, and toiling in the fields from sunrise to sunset. With no proper access to healthcare and a general lack of knowledge about spinal well-being, most endure silently as back pain becomes a norm of life. So why are spinal problems so widespread among tribal women, and what can be done to help them?
The Heavy Toll of Daily Life on Their Spine
Tribal women not only manage homes; they also perform the toughest work to feed their families. The intensity of their work every day takes a huge toll on their backs, resulting in long-term spinal disorders, chronic back pain, and joint problems.
Here are some of the tasks that they perform daily
- Fetching Water – Imagine carrying a heavy pot balanced on your head miles every day. The constant strain on the spine, shoulders, and neck results in long-term postural problems and causes chronic back pain.
- Cooking on Firewood or Chulha – Squatting for hours in front of a wood-fired stove results in a hunched posture, putting incredible strain on the lower back.
- Washing Clothes – Bending over riverbanks or rock surfaces to wash clothes, and repeated motions forces the spine into different positions for long periods, leading to lumbar strain.
- Cleaning and Sweeping – Sweeping mud floors or scrubbing courtyards involves repeated bending, leading to chronic back pain.
- Farming and Fieldwork – Digging, planting, harvesting—these activities involve repeated bending and lifting, making spinal injuries nearly inevitable.
- Carrying Fodder and Firewood – Large bundles of grass or wood is carried on the back and it puts immense pressure on the spine and neck muscles.
- Hand Grinding Grains – The circular motion of the old grinding stones, which is repeated again and again, strains the shoulders and lower back.
- Brick Making and Construction Work – Construction work is common among many tribal women, where they carry bricks and heavy loads, which results in acute back pain and spinal wear-and-tear.
- Handicrafts and Weaving – Sitting in a constant posture for several hours while weaving or making handicrafts can lead to postural imbalances and stiffness of the spine.
Why Do These Spine Issues Go Unnoticed?
Limited Healthcare Access
Tribal societies are usually in isolated places where medical centers are very few. When a woman has chronic back pain, she rarely gets to see a doctor or physiotherapist. Instead, she learns to adapt to the pain until it reaches an unbearable level.
Gender Discrimination and Societal Norms
In most tribal societies, men’s health is more valued than that of women since they are regarded as the major breadwinners. Women, however, silently bear pain while still continuing their daily chores. Medical attention is usually condemned as unnecessary or even luxurious.
Poor Nutrition and Bone Health
Numerous tribal women experience malnutrition, which effect the bones and muscles making them more susceptible to osteoporosis and spinal injuries and fractures due to the lack of calcium, Vitamin D and other important components
Lack of Awareness
Very few of these women have ever received any information about spine health or posture. Simple ergonomic principles—such as standing correctly while preparing meals or lifting correctly—would make great difference to lower their risk of spinal injury.
Normal Spine Problems of Tribal Women
- Chronic Low Back Pain – Persistent, constant pain that builds over time because of repeated straining.
- Herniated Discs –Lifting something heavy in an improper manner can cause discs to slip out, resulting in excruciating pain and compressed nerves.
- Sciatica – it is a painful condition brought on by putting pressure on the sciatic nerve and causing sharp pain down into the legs.
- Osteoporosis-Related Spine Damage – Malnutrition weakens bones, causing fractures and permanent spinal deformities.
- Kyphosis (Hunched Back) – Years of repeated bending while cooking or farming cause an exaggerated forward curvature of the spine.
- Spondylosis – Wear-and-tear and years of intense labour leads to degeneration of the spinal discs.
How The Spine Foundation Is Making a Difference
In the midst of such challenges, organizations such as The Spine Foundation are striving to provide relief to tribal women afflicted with spinal disorders. Established by Dr. Shekhar Bhojraj, The Spine Foundation aims to deliver spine care in India’s most remote areas.
Their Initiatives Include:
- Free Spine Surgeries – For women afflicted with severe spinal conditions and cannot afford the treatment.
- Medical Camps and Check-Ups – Taking spine experts to rural centers to detect and treat problems before they become severe.
- Community Awareness Programmes – Educating tribal women on posture correction, back pain prevention, and lifting techniques.
- Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation – Rehabilitating women from spinal injuries and restoring mobility.
- Training in Preventive Healthcare – Teaching various ergonomic techniques to reduce spinal injury in daily activities.
By solving these problems at their root, The Spine Foundation is not only curing spine issues but also saving the next generations from suffering the same.
Solutions: What Can Be Done to Help Tribal Women?
- Ergonomic Training – Educating women about how to handle heavy loads safely and stand with proper posture while cooking, farming, and carrying loads.
- Mobile Healthcare Units – Establishing roaming medical clinics to take spine experts to tribal villages.
- Nutritional Support – Offering supplements and education regarding calcium-rich food to build up bones and prevent osteoporosis.
- Alternative Fuel Sources – Encouraging gas stoves over firewood to reduce the necessity of long squatting and bending.
- Women’s Health Awareness Campaigns – Overcoming gender biases and encouraging women to pursue medical care for their pain.
Conclusion
Tribal women are the pillars of their families and communities, but their spinal well-being is mostly neglected. Chronic back pain and spinal disorders are more than just minor inconvenience—they are life changing conditions that deprive these women of strength, mobility, and independence. The absence of healthcare, societal neglect, and backbreaking labour make them particularly susceptible to musculoskeletal disorders.
Fortunately, organizations such as The Spine Foundation are coming in to shift the narrative by offering vital medical care, education, and rehabilitation. But lasting change will take more than medicine—it takes a shift in society. When we value the spinal health of tribal women, we give them the power to live healthier, pain-free lives, so their strength can continue to support generations to come.