How to cope without drugs
Sep 28, 2008
SIXTY-NINE-YEAR-OLD Charles Oundo suffered from back pain which left the right side of his body paralysed for a year, with no hope of recovery. Oundo’s spinal nerves became deformed as a result of sitting in one place for too long, on an uncomfortable wooden chair, says James Sunday, a physioth
BY Frederick Womakuyu
SIXTY-NINE-YEAR-OLD Charles Oundo suffered from back pain which left the right side of his body paralysed for a year, with no hope of recovery. Oundo’s spinal nerves became deformed as a result of sitting in one place for too long, on an uncomfortable wooden chair, says James Sunday, a physiotherapist at Goodbye Clinic.
“As a tailor, he was trying to make a living only to discover later he was slowly killing himself.†As his situation became life-threatening, Oundo sought treatment from hospitals, but his condition would not improve.
“I was told I had only a few days to live. Frustrated, my wife took me home and I waited for my death,†he said.
Oundo’s case is not isolated. Dr. Henry Kinene, a consultant at African Air Rescue (AAR) says 70-80% of the population experience backache in their lifetime. He adds that at AAR, they receive about 15-20 cases of people suffering from the condition daily.
“Many others do not report this pain because they mistake it for malaria and other common diseases while others cannot afford to seek treatment,†he said.
Statistics from the Ministry of Health indicate that about 8,000 people experience back-related pains daily.
However, this figure could be higher, because most Ugandans do not get health check-ups, so many cases go un-reported. Of the 8000, about 3% never recover. Most back pain is caused by paralysis and spinal cord deformation.
For Oundo, however, there was hope in the form of physiotherapy and exercise at Goodbye Clinic on Burton Street. Founded in 2007, the clinic treats back pain using exercises that target particular parts of the body.
“The technique we use involves neither drugs nor injections, but simple exercises that involve changing body positions,†Sunday says. He explains that the patient is given instructions to enable him move the body freely.
Sunday, a trained physiotherapist started the clinic because he wanted to restore hope to patients who were suffering “After my studies in England, I saw an overwhelming number of patients suffering from back pain.
With my background, I thought of something few doctors think of — giving the right kind of exercise with close supervision of the patients and it has worked,’ he said.
Since 2007, Sunday has treated about 800 patients. “I’ve even treated three professors of medicine and many other doctors,†he said.
A number of patients speak highly of the exercise therapy. “I had lost strength in the lower part of my body, and couldn’t stand upright. I was using a wheel chair,†said Moses Lutalo, one of Sunday’s patients. “I tried clinics, hospitals and traditional healers but they couldn’t help me much.
But with regular exercise, I have abandoned the wheel chair and can walk upright again.â€
Dr. Charles Oboi of Nsambya Hospital says he had extensive back pain and had resorted to smoking to relieve it.
“The pain was piercing and uncomfortable. But a series of regular exercises at Sunday’s clinic healed the pain,†he says.
Sunday says some causes of the back pain include sitting or sleeping on hard surfaces and poor eating habits.
Dr. Moses Byala, a physiotherapist at Mulago Hospital, says back pain mostly affects people aged 35 and above.
“The type of bed you sleep on may be another cause. A good bed must be made of ply wood,†he says.
“You should also use a mattress that is not less than six inches thick. Less than this means you will be injured by either the ground or bed that you’re sleeping on.â€
Kinene says other possible causes of backache include bad body posture, fractures due to accidents and assault as well as infections leading to conditions like bone disease especially among women.
Kinene says treatment of backache may be either through drugs or physiotherapy and exercise.
SIXTY-NINE-YEAR-OLD Charles Oundo suffered from back pain which left the right side of his body paralysed for a year, with no hope of recovery. Oundo’s spinal nerves became deformed as a result of sitting in one place for too long, on an uncomfortable wooden chair, says James Sunday, a physiotherapist at Goodbye Clinic.
“As a tailor, he was trying to make a living only to discover later he was slowly killing himself.†As his situation became life-threatening, Oundo sought treatment from hospitals, but his condition would not improve.
“I was told I had only a few days to live. Frustrated, my wife took me home and I waited for my death,†he said.
Oundo’s case is not isolated. Dr. Henry Kinene, a consultant at African Air Rescue (AAR) says 70-80% of the population experience backache in their lifetime. He adds that at AAR, they receive about 15-20 cases of people suffering from the condition daily.
“Many others do not report this pain because they mistake it for malaria and other common diseases while others cannot afford to seek treatment,†he said.
Statistics from the Ministry of Health indicate that about 8,000 people experience back-related pains daily.
However, this figure could be higher, because most Ugandans do not get health check-ups, so many cases go un-reported. Of the 8000, about 3% never recover. Most back pain is caused by paralysis and spinal cord deformation.
For Oundo, however, there was hope in the form of physiotherapy and exercise at Goodbye Clinic on Burton Street. Founded in 2007, the clinic treats back pain using exercises that target particular parts of the body.
“The technique we use involves neither drugs nor injections, but simple exercises that involve changing body positions,†Sunday says. He explains that the patient is given instructions to enable him move the body freely.
Sunday, a trained physiotherapist started the clinic because he wanted to restore hope to patients who were suffering “After my studies in England, I saw an overwhelming number of patients suffering from back pain.
With my background, I thought of something few doctors think of — giving the right kind of exercise with close supervision of the patients and it has worked,’ he said.
Since 2007, Sunday has treated about 800 patients. “I’ve even treated three professors of medicine and many other doctors,†he said.
A number of patients speak highly of the exercise therapy. “I had lost strength in the lower part of my body, and couldn’t stand upright. I was using a wheel chair,†said Moses Lutalo, one of Sunday’s patients. “I tried clinics, hospitals and traditional healers but they couldn’t help me much.
But with regular exercise, I have abandoned the wheel chair and can walk upright again.â€
Dr. Charles Oboi of Nsambya Hospital says he had extensive back pain and had resorted to smoking to relieve it.
“The pain was piercing and uncomfortable. But a series of regular exercises at Sunday’s clinic healed the pain,†he says.
Sunday says some causes of the back pain include sitting or sleeping on hard surfaces and poor eating habits.
Dr. Moses Byala, a physiotherapist at Mulago Hospital, says back pain mostly affects people aged 35 and above.
“The type of bed you sleep on may be another cause. A good bed must be made of ply wood,†he says.
“You should also use a mattress that is not less than six inches thick. Less than this means you will be injured by either the ground or bed that you’re sleeping on.â€
Kinene says other possible causes of backache include bad body posture, fractures due to accidents and assault as well as infections leading to conditions like bone disease especially among women.
Kinene says treatment of backache may be either through drugs or physiotherapy and exercise.