Dutch Children’s Spines Show the Physical Cost of Centuries of Labor

Children who worked in the Netherlands centuries ago developed spinal damage more commonly associated with old age and prolonged physical labor, according to a study published in the International Journal of Paleopathology. Researchers Alex Tutwiler and Rachel Schats of Leiden University examined the remains of 143 people aged 4 to 25 who lived between 1650 and 1850. The remains came from rural dairy workers in Middenbeemster, factory workers in Arnhem, and affluent, largely nonworking children from Delft. The bones showed worn spinal joints, bony growths along the edges of vertebrae and dents in the discs between them. Some of the affected children were younger than 10, and the study included evidence of spinal wear in children who had not yet lost all of their baby teeth. The most extensive damage appeared among children from Middenbeemster. Historical records indicate that children there could begin work at about age 9, carrying milk basins and cheese molds. The researchers linked this heavy lifting and repetitive activity to deterioration in the upper-back joints. Some of the children also had Schmorl’s nodes, in which spinal-disc tissue pushes into the surrounding vertebrae under pressure. The findings differed for Arnhem’s factory children. Although spinning, sewing and weaving could involve workdays of about 12 hours, their spines more closely resembled those of the wealthier Delft children. The study suggested that factory labor placed less stress on the spine than dairy work, though lower-back problems were still observed. A small number of Delft children also showed spinal damage. The researchers suggested that physical activities such as playing or horseback riding could have contributed. They also noted that too little movement might have played a role, since these children spent long periods studying, sitting and reading. Historical records describe children working 12-, 15- and sometimes 17-hour days. By the 1800s, census data indicated that children accounted for about 5% of the Dutch workforce, or roughly 27,200 workers. The study’s authors said skeletal remains provide evidence of the bodily effects that written accounts often leave unrecorded. Tutwiler plans to use CT scans in future research to examine how child labor affected children’s arms and legs. The study also noted that the long-term physical effects of child labor remain only partly understood worldwide, partly because working children rarely receive medical care.