Back pain is one of the most common causes of long-term sickness in the workplace after stress. Is your practice doing what it can to protect practitioners and employees?
Approximately 7.6 million workdays are lost every year in the UK because of work-related back pain. Those affected can take up to six weeks or longer to recover, so prevention is definitely more cost effective than cure.Here are our top ten tips for preventing back pain and musculoskeletal injuries in the workplace.
- Consult employees to find out what the hazards are, along with any health and safety representatives. Involving everyone means that they’re far more likely to implement health and safety measures you put in place.
- Back pain can appear as a result of trips and falls, so put policies in place to ensure that corridors and entrances remain hazard free.
- Back injury can be triggered by lifting equipment or supplies above shoulder height, when twisting the body or in a cramped space. Assess whether staff are having to lift supplies in cramped and unsuitable conditions e.g. small stock cupboards, and remedy this. Train staff to lift if necessary.
- Conduct workplace assessments to check that work equipment encourages staffto sit with good posture and to work ergonomically. It takes a little time and expense but can save weeks of employee absences in the long term.
- Encourage employees to take regular short breaks. Frequent short breaks are more beneficial that fewer longer ones as they allow muscles to relax and encourage better circulation.
- Encourage employees to do stretching or relaxation exercises for the neck, shoulders and wrists at their workstations.
- Organise work so that employees can vary their activities during the day as much as is practical. For instance, filing and photocopying both offer people a chance to get out of their chairs and use different sets of muscles. Encourage them to go and talk to other employees rather than send email and to take the stairs if their knees will allow.
- Cold offices encourage muscle tension, particularly in the neck and shoulders, due to unconscious ‘hunching’ in an effort to keep warm. This can contribute to strain. Maintain a comfortable temperate – and remember that stretching and moving around raise body temperature slightly, helping to alleviate the problem.
- Supply headsets or phone rests for those tempted to cradle the phone between their shoulders and the ear. This can cause severe disc injury.
- Encourage employees to seek prompt help when experiencing any sort of strain or discomfort in the wrists, elbows, fingers, forearms or hand. An occupational therapist can help to stop problems before they start.
Finally, you can’t always prevent back pain or injury, so make sure you have adequate locum cover in place to ensure things run smoothly if one of your practitioners is affected. A tax deductible premium of as little as £1,300 a year with Practice Cover will pay out £2,500 a week (following a 4 deferment period) for up to 52 weeks. You don’t have to spend the money on a locum either – you’re free to spend it on whatever you need to keep your practice running smoothly.
The opinions presented in this blog are solely those of the author on behalf of Practice Cover Limited and they do not constitute individual advice.
