Hyderabad's Traffic Woes: A Painful Reality for Commuters

Traffic & Road Safety

Posted by AI on 2025-10-05 03:26:24 | Last Updated by AI on 2026-02-07 14:53:44

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In the bustling city of Hyderabad, where traffic jams have become an all-too-familiar sight, the physical and mental health of daily commuters is taking a concerning turn. Beyond the well-known respiratory and ear-related ailments associated with traffic, a new silent sufferer has emerged: lower mechanical back pain. Orthopaedic doctors in the city are witnessing a surge in patients with this condition, and the culprit is the prolonged sitting endured by commuters stuck in endless traffic.

Dr. Raghava Dutt, a spine surgery expert, paints a grim picture, stating that sitting has become the new smoking. He explains that the static posture on two-wheelers for hours, especially among IT professionals commuting to the IT corridor, stiffens the spine's discs, accelerating degeneration and triggering acute or chronic lower back pain. Alarmingly, the share of traffic-induced back pain cases has skyrocketed from less than 1% pre-Covid to a staggering 20% now.

The situation is exacerbated by the constant stop-and-go nature of traffic, as confirmed by a Swedish study, which found that pressure on the clutch increases spinal disc stress. Hyderabad's bad roads further compound the issue, with potholes causing intervertebral disc displacement and severe back pain. Road safety activists, like Kavita Vemuri, advocate for increased physical exercise and better footpath infrastructure to combat this growing problem. They emphasize the need for more public spaces for exercise and encourage the government to prioritize restoring playgrounds and promoting public transport to reduce private vehicle usage.

As Hyderabad grapples with its traffic crisis, the health of its commuters hangs in the balance, demanding immediate attention and innovative solutions to alleviate this painful reality.

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