HOEDSPRUIT – Hlokomela Clinic, well known in the Hoedspruit area for its long-standing work with farmworkers and vulnerable families, has added a new service to its health programme with the launch of a spine care clinic.

The clinic opened in October to coincide with World Spine Day.

Rising need for accessible spine treatment

For more than 20 years, Hlokomela has focused on bringing accessible primary healthcare to people who often have nowhere else to turn.

Staff members say they have seen a steady rise in patients suffering from back and neck pain, yet very few have access to proper assessment or conservative treatment. The new clinic aims to close that gap.

Chiropractor Dr Rolene Rademan said the partnership feels like a natural extension of the organisation’s work.

“For more than two decades, Hlokomela has worked to ensure that quality healthcare is not a privilege but a right for everyone in the community. The addition of spine care is a natural and much-needed extension of that mission. We see every day how back pain and other spinal conditions affect the lives and livelihoods of farmworkers and local families.

“This partnership with World Spine Care Africa allows everyone to offer specialised care that has been out of reach for most people in rural areas. We are proud to help bring world-class, evidence-based treatment directly to the people who need it most.”

Global support from World Spine Care Africa

World Spine Care Africa is a global NGO started in 2008 by spinal health expert Dr Scott Haldeman.

The organisation has already established successful community-based spine clinics in Botswana, working alongside government hospitals and local health teams.

The Hoedspruit clinic will be run by local chiropractors, Rademan and her husband, Dr Ruben Erasmus, who were introduced to World Spine Care Africa through a colleague working in Botswana.

After visiting the organisation’s clinics there, and later hosting its representatives in Hoedspruit, they found that their goals aligned closely with Hlokomela’s approach to community healthcare.

“We have admired Hlokomela’s work for years,” they said. “They have built something sustainable and trusted, and that’s exactly the type of platform needed to make spine care accessible to everyone, not just those who can afford private treatment.”

World Spine Care Africa also receives support from the Chiropractic Association of South Africa, the Spine Association of South Africa, and the World Federation of Chiropractic.