Nanyuki Level Five Hospital in Laikipia County has devised an innovative way of curing their patients with back or knee pain through coordinated physical exercises, ailments that would otherwise have undergone surgeries.
Every Wednesday, the young and the old gather at a hall in the facility for two hours of vigorous dancing, not to burn calories but for group physiotherapy sessions.
Florence Muthoni, aged 65 years, is one of the patients who have evaded the surgeon’s blade through the regular exercises after developing back pain and numbness in the legs for the last three years. She says that the initiative has been of great benefit and she has done over eight physical exercise sessions.
After a doctor referred her to Mathari Hospital for an x-ray, the results presented to Nanyuki Hospital showed an abnormality in her spinal cord; she had two choices of either surgery or physical exercises at the Back School.
“I am proud of doing physical exercises with them; I have been able to stop taking medications in the last three years which I used to take to manage my pain. After taking an MRI scan, I was left with two choices of either being operated on or do the exercises,” she reveals.
She notes that with the exercises, she has been able to return to normal life, a situation that inspired her 22-year-old daughter, Precious Muthoni, to join her, with the aim to reap the benefits of healthy living.
“My mom has benefited from physical exercises; she was sick and couldn’t do anything. We were helping her; however, after starting these exercise sessions, she has been cured, prompting me to join her. It’s amazing, no getting sick or relying on medicines,” she highlights and at the same time urged other youth to embrace physical exercise as a way to stay healthy.
Physiotherapist Nancy Ogenga, who conducts the physical exercises at Back school reveals that the initiative was started in December 2022 following an orthopedic camp at the hospital that was conducted by Future Health Africa, a UK-based organization. In partnership with the county hospital, they realized that the majority of those who sought medications at those camps were suffering from back pain.
She highlights that due to the overwhelming numbers of back pain patients, Future Health Africa and Nanyuki Hospital decided to explore ways on how to cure their patients, hence resorting to group aerobic exercises.
Ogenga says that, since the back school started, hundreds of patients have benefitted and despite them getting cured, they continue to stream in the facility as a way of staying healthy.
The physiotherapist attributes the back challenges to the nature of work people do, including lifting heavy tilling objects and poor sitting posture, among other lifestyle factors.
Samuel Maina, another patient, notes that initially, he had unrelenting knee pain and it was difficult for him to even squat in a pit latrine, hence self-imposing fasting as a way to avoid answering a call of nature. However, with regular exercises at back school he had miraculously healed. He was scheduled for surgery.
“I had knee pain and was scheduled for surgery; Nancy advised me to do physical exercises first. I would eat food and wonder why, after reminiscing about the pain, I should await squatting. After undergoing the aerobics, I am cured,” notes the 71-year-old.
According to consultant orthopedic surgeon Samuel Ndanya, globally, back pain is prevalent, with an average of 90 percent likelihood that a person aged between 20 to 60 years will experience significant back pain at some point in their life.
“If you check at any time and take any population of the age of between 20 to 60 years, a third of that population is having back pain. That’s how common this condition is irrespective of where you’re from,” points out Dr. Ndanya.
Dr. Ndanya says that lower back pain will heal since they are caused by mechanical problems.
“There are many physical methods one can use to cure back pain, including the usage of muscle relaxants, painkillers and surgical methods. However, physical methods have been proven to be the most effective,” reveals the surgeon.
Nanyuki Level Five Hospital CEO Sammy Kilonzo notes that the Back School initiative has offered a lifeline for more than 500 patients who were dependent on painkillers and scheduled for surgeries to cure their back pain ailments or other sedentary lifestyle diseases.
“Back school programme combines education and exercises to help manage and prevent back pain. Back school has been quite useful and we have been able to bring in many patients together who have non-surgical lower back pain,” says Kilonzo.
He further points out that working in a group when conducting the physical exercises under the instruction of a physiotherapist is cost-effective for the hospital since one instructor can attend to 60 patients at once hence reducing the workload of the staff by a big margin. The programme is expected to be rolled out across the county hospital facilities.
Dr. Kilonzo says as the pioneer of this group therapy in the country, the hospital administration is celebrating this initiative not only for reducing the workload for the few physiotherapists but also for the load of benefits it comes with for the patients.
By Muturi Mwangi
