August is Tradies National Health Month!

By Alayne Hamilton

The term ‘Tradies’ refers to technicians and trades workers, labourers, machinery operators and machinery drivers.

We can’t go through this month without first addressing a stereotype; 

TRADIE (ˈtreɪdɪ) noun: The pie eating, iced coffee drinking trades worker who never exercises, gets up early and stays up late and drinks too much beer. The tradie breezes through their 20’s then as time goes on suffers from all those aches and pains that used to just “go away on their own in a couple of days’’. 

Fortunately; 2019 data from the APA shows that 70% of today’s tradies’ report that they are trying to eat a healthy diet and only 20% reported that they never engage in exercise. This is great news!

Although it’s time to rethink the stereotype, there’s no denying that by the nature of their occupation and workplace environment, tradespeople are at an increased risk of suffering a workplace injury. 

This has significant ramifications for the individual, business and client as people are removed from the workplace during their recovery, sometimes for a long period of time. This can also have the flow on effect of high stress and declining mental health. The juxtaposition of when to return to work financially and professionally vs. physical recovery can be a difficult one to balance, especially for the self employed.

So, how can we make sure our tradies are safe at work? 

Prevention!

Prevention of musculoskeletal injury is the best approach. An osteopathic preventative approach includes manual treatment as well as targeted exercise and rehabilitation activities to ensure that the body is biomechanically functioning optimally and activities are being carried out in a safe way; not unlike training for sport. Making sure that the body is capable of withstanding the physical stresses it encounters throughout the work day is vital. 

Again, focussing on parallels with sport, we all see professional athletes warming up before a game and generally accept that when we exercise, warm ups are a good idea. However, only 24% of tradies reported that they warmed up before work in the 2019 APA Australian Tradies Health Research report. Workplace attitude/culture was largely blamed for this low number. 

If you’re interested in learning more about what conditions you (or the tradie in your life) is at risk of developing, have a look at this interactive tool from WorkSafe Victoria;

http://injuryhotspots.com.au/#/.

Injury hotspots allows you to browse the conditions that are frequently reported in different occupations and even gives suggestions on how to minimise risk with “Safety Solutions”.

For example, the 3 most common areas of injury for a labourer are; 

Axial: low back pain/injury

Lower limb: Knee injury

Upper limb: Hand/finger injury

Whatever your role and whatever the occupational environment, prevention is the key to success in looking after yourself and your team at work!

Manual Handing and Musculoskeletal Health in the Workplace

By Alayne Hamilton

Ergonomics: non-desk based work

We’ve talked a lot about desk based work of late with many people taking time away from the office to work from home.

But…

For a lot of industries sitting at a desk all day is just not a reality!

As COVID restrictions continue to ease and people return to a level of normality in the workplace, here are some considerations for those whose jobs require either an increased level of activity or a wider variety of activities.

There are very few workplaces where manual handling is not required on some level; and we’re not just talking about lifting and carrying heavy objects. A wide variety of tasks from waiting tables to driving a forklift to landscaping have the potential to lead to musculoskeletal injury through maintaining sustained postures, repetitive strain, exposure to vibration or use of significant physical force.

Safe work Australia reports that in the 2014-2015 financial year 107,355 serious claims were lodged and 90% of these claims were made due to injuries and musculoskeletal disorders. 43.8% of these serious claims were in relation to trauma sustained to a musculoskeletal structure; bone, ligament, tendon or muscle.

If you do need to regularly lift loads around the workplace, either great or small; keep the following tips from Corporate Work Health Australia in mind to protect yourself from injury.

Corporate Work Health Australia: Manual Handling Poster

(Link above to higher quality image)

Image Source: https://corporateworkhealth.com.au/ergonomic-assessment/manual-handling-ergonomic-stretching-posters/

Some further considerations for varied workplaces…

Driving:

People whose jobs demand regular hours of driving should ensure that their driving position is optimised, especially when using shared company vehicles, Take the time to adjust seat positioning (height, low back support, seat base, backrest and distance from pedals), mirrors and steering wheel whenever you enter the vehicle. Take regular breaks throughout the day and avoid working from the vehicle where possible to avoid neck strain(i.e. working on a laptop seated in the car).

Footwear:

Whether you’re on your feet all day in retail or stomping around a construction site, don’t underestimate the importance of good quality footwear! Work boots/shoes should be comfortable and supportive as well as functional to avoid foot, lower limb or back pain.

Occupational health and safety factors that should be taken into account when assessing the appropriateness of footwear for work include; protection from dropped items through a steel or composite toe, non-slip soles, adequate cushioning for prolonged standing or standing on hard surfaces, adequate contact area with the ground (i.e. small pointed heels provide little contact), secure fastenings, work boot compliance with Australian standards.

Flat, enclosed shoes that meet the specific requirements of your work environment and are comfortable are universally the best option.

Even if you have an active or physically demanding job it’s important to still follow the Australian Physical Activity Guidelines in order to reap the mental and physical benefits of regular activity. See our last blog about safely returning to sport post-COVID. 

If you’re returning to work and are already implementing new systems or procedures due to COVID-19, what better time to reassess hazards around the workplace and consider how these can be minimised? For tips on how to reduce the risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders in your workplace have a look at; Safe Work Australia: Home and WorkSafe Tasmania: Home.