Editor's Note: Submitted by World Spine Care.
The newest installment of World Spine Care clinics in Gaborone, Botswana, celebrated its one-year anniversary earlier this year. The clinic is located in a low-income neighborhood in Gaborone in an existing community clinic complete with outpatient and maternity units.
BH3 stands for Broadhurst 3 and the clinic serves as a primary care clinic, which is consistent with the World Spine Care models in Shoshong and Mahalapye. The clinic was established in partnership with the Greater Gaborone District Health Management team; as well as Giving Back Health Abroad, a Canadian charity.
The clinic is run by Dr. Mufudzi Chihambakwe who serves as the clinic coordinator for the World Spine Care program in Botswana. The WSC model of care has proven to be an effective model for the integration of chiropractic care into public health care systems in underserved communities. Many of the insights gained in the service of these communities are of great relevance when considering factors that make chiropractic care accessible to more people.
The WSC model emphasizes people-centered and culturally appropriate care, with provisions such as translators that allow patients to communicate in their mother tongue, Setswana. The clinic has also seen good community engagement through the yoga project, as well as an exercise class with local community members. Ultimately, the patients that come to the clinic receive care are the real fruit of all these efforts.
One such person who has benefitted from the care provided at the BH3 shared his story with Dr. Chihambakwe:
I have been living with degenerative joint disease of the spine as long ago as 2006. Over the years, I have been prone to numerous instances of a stiff neck or stiff upper back, ranging in severity but mostly tolerable. In most instances, I would seek relief from physiotherapy.
In 2016, after off-road heavy-duty truck driving, I started experiencing severe stiff neck and back. The condition progressively worsened until I couldn't turn my head without triggering severe muscle spasms from my neck to my head.
At this point, I lost a lot of feeling on my left-hand fingertips, as pins and needles sensation also set in. I also had constant pain in my right shoulder and shoulder joint area, similar in symptoms to tendonitis. Driving and mild everyday activities became difficult and often unmanageable. My visits to the physiotherapist increased in frequency as the condition worsened.
Around May 2021, I once again started doing moderate to heavy physical tasks that I had been advised to avoid. After driving a vehicle with defective power steering, I started experiencing pain in the middle of my chest, similar to a sprain.
At first, I thought because it was winter, I might have been exposed to extreme cold or might have sprained my chest [without realizing it]. However, with each passing day, the pain got worse, until it changed its manifestation to the familiar stiff neck and upper back, accompanied by the most severe and excruciating spasms from the neck to the head.
Aware of my previous health struggles, a friend referred me to the World Spine Care clinic. At first, I was skeptical because government-provided services are hardly ever satisfactory in my part of the world. However, after the first visit, I was satisfied with the professionalism of the chiropractic care I had received.
Because of the severity of my condition, the initial sessions were twice weekly for about five weeks; followed by once-weekly sessions and currently, once-monthly sessions. The fact that I can receive this kind of care without any payment is in itself worthy of praise.
I cannot give a proper testimonial of my experience with World Spine Care without giving the above insight into my past struggles with the condition, the part I played in exacerbating the condition, and the new lease of life that World Spine Care has given me. Thank you, World Spine Care.
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