How Nanyuki hospital is using exercise to manage back pain

With more patients visiting hospitals in search of treatment for back pain, a health facility in Nanyuki, Laikipia county, has started an initiative that manages the condition through physical exercises.

Florence Muthoni, a resident of Nanyuki town, developed back and leg pain that grew worse as time passed.

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At some point, Muthoni’s leg started getting numb and an MRI confirmed that a spine disc had herniated.

“But doctors at Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital suggested that I try Back School for eight session before considering surgery”.

Back School is a specialised educational and exercise program conducted as part of physical therapy and is designed to teach people how to manage, treat, and prevent low back pain through proper body mechanics, posture, core strengthening exercises.

Muthoni said the pain disappeared, stemming her reliance on pain medication and allowing her to live a normal life.

Her daughter Precious Muthoni said the drastic change in her mother’s body prompted her to accompany her to the physical exercises.

“Before, she couldn’t do a lot at home. Since she started the exercises, we have seen a huge improvement in her”.

Every Wednesday, the patients gather in a hall at the health facility and are taken through two hours of vigorous exercises.

Globally, lower back pain is the most common musculoskeletal condition and a leading public health burden.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), the prevalence increases with age, resulting in increased disability and reduced productivity.

In 2020, low back pain affected 619 million people globally and the number is projected to rise to 843 million cases by 2050, driven largely by population expansion and aging.

John Mithamo also suffered from chronic back pain and had been scheduled for a surgery before medics urged him to try the exercise first.

Mithamo explained that his pain stopped by the seventh session but he has continued to religiously attend the weekly sessions three years later to strengthen his body.

Samuel Maina, another beneficiary, said he had a longstanding knee pain that almost immobilized him until his doctors referred to the Back School.

“The knee pain had affected my life so much such that I had stopped eating because I couldn’t imagine having to squat in the toilet later”.

Maina can now jump up and down, and squats with ease. Exercise was painful at first but the pain eventually diminished.

Nancy Ogenga, a physiotherapist, explained that Back School was established in 2022 with the support of Future Health Africa, a UK based charity that organizes annual orthopedic camps in the county.

Ogenga pointed out that an orthopedic medical camp held that year revealed that most patients suffered from lower back pain and required physio-therapy.

But with a limited work-force, the patients with mild back pain were grouped together and taken through exercises.

She said group therapy is helpful to patients psychologically and help them unwind from their daily stresses.

Orthopedic surgeon Sammy Ndanya said a third of the global population aged between 20 and 60 years suffer from back pain, terming it the most prevalent orthopedic condition.

“Science has shown that most back pains heal by physical and not medical methods though some people require medical procedures”.

Back School, he noted, has reduced the work load for physiotherapists in the facility as one can handle as many as 60 patients at a go.

At the same time, patients have been able to keep other chronic illnesses such as heart conditions, hypertension and diabetes at bay with sustained exercise while cutting their dependence on pain killers.

“Pain killers shouldn’t be used to manage back pain because their prolonged use can have consequences,” he said.

The facility’s CEO Sammy Kilonzo stated that lower back pain usually occurs due to weakness in muscles that support the spine and is worsened by sedentary lifestyles.

“We have found Back School especially helpful in managing non-surgical back pain,” he added.