World Spine Care
World spine care was formed to provide high-quality evidence-based culturally integrated prevention assessment treatment and community education programs for spinal disorders in underserved communities around the world.
For the last 10 years, Gasebomo has suffered from low back pain, but over time, her pain has gotten worse - now the pain has spread to her whole spine, and her legs are swollen. Eventually, Gasebomo isn’t able to care for herself, her children, or clean the house.
Gasebomo is unable to work in the hospital and eventually, she loses her job. There is no workers' compensation in place, so there is no safety net, but she doesn’t give up. She tries to start a business by making jewelry at home. It is painful and difficult, but she persists. However, she can’t travel to sell her jewelry and struggles to survive.
Gasebomo then travels nearly 500 kilometers to a hospital in the neighboring country of South Africa. The CT scan shows a disc bulge in her low back. She tries medication, acupuncture, and physical therapy. It helps a bit, but the pain returns after a week. The doctors order an MRI and then refer her to the World Spine Care clinic in the Mahalapye District Hospital.
After receiving treatment in the clinic for a few weeks, Gasebomo begins to feel whole again. She declares, “God is alive and has a plan for my life. I am now a person. I have improved a lot. I am doing so many things for myself. I even picked up my little boy, and it was nice.”
Gasebomo continues to experience minor, localized pain, but she feels in control. She can work, clean, and cook for herself again. She can sit for a long time.
Financials
Programs
Spine Care Clinics
We partner with local hospital systems and Ministries of Health to provide sustainable first-line care for low back and neck pain and other common musculoskeletal conditions. Our volunteers also educate local health care providers to build capacity for managing these common conditions.
Straighten Up
We have adapted the Straighten Up Canada program and brought it to Botswana. Members of the community and students are taught how to improve their posture and increase function with 3 minutes of spine exercises.
The Yoga Project
Yoga Teacher Trainers enable members of the community to teach yoga classes that accommodate students with acute or chronic pain. This capacity-building initiative will enable members of the community to teach the classes in the local language and cultural context, thus ensuring the relevance and success of the yoga program.
Global Spine Care Initiative
Adding to the body of knowledge of spine care is a core value of World Spine Care. The GSCI is our major research project that seeks to develop a model for prevention and care that could reasonably be instituted in communities with different levels of resources.