Postural Analysis in Older Females from an Indigenous Community of Ecuador that Uses a Chumbi as Part of Their Traditional Outfit

In Ecuador, indigenous communities are a significant percentage of the population, mainly dedicated to agriculture. Observations show that elderly women of these communities suffer severe spine deformations associated with pain and instability, that could be related to the use of a traditional lumbar girdle called chumbi, their manual daily activities and/or to poor medical care. Forty women, that used chumbi since infancy, were photographed in the sagittal and frontal planes to perform a qualitative static postural analysis to assess back musculoskeletal alterations, shoulders position and their relationship with scapulae. The results show a high prevalence of hypertonicity in back muscles (80%), hypercifosis in more than 50%, scoliosis in 46% and more than 80% of rolled shoulders and winged scapulae. The musculoskeletal disorders found aim to a muscular imbalance, that could be associated to the frequency and magnitude of the carried loads, the lifting and mooring techniques and the use of the chumbi.