Carrying heavy loads on the head is a very common problem on construction sites in India. Workers, who are mostly women, have to balance heavy iron pans full of concrete or bricks right on top of their heads. These pans often weigh just about 30 to 35 kg. The fact that they carry so much weight like this is very bad for the neck. It crushes the spine and flattens out the natural curve that is supposed to be there.
When they walk over the bumpy ground at a site, the weight bounces and sends shocks through their neck bones. This ends up damaging the joints in the spine. All this pressure causes slipped discs and pinched nerves very early in life. It makes it really hard for them to even move their arms properly. This happens for 8 to 10 hours every single day at thousands of building projects all over the country.
The fact that their spines wear out like this is a big deal because they have to stop working early. When they lose their daily wages, their families have to take out loans with very high interest just to pay for doctors. For instance, there is a worker in Hyderabad named Lakshmi who is only 34 years old. She has carried concrete on her head for nine years, and now her fingers are always numb and her neck is very stiff. She has just lost the strength in her hands, so she cant work anymore. This has left her family struggling to survive on loans.