Lower back pain is one of the most painful conditions to affect British employees today. When we get back pain we automatically take time off our daily routine, this is wrong and could be more harmful than good as your back is designed to be kept moving, try to keep to your daily routine as much as possible, this should help for a speedy recovery. When we experience lower back pain the exact cause is somewhat unclear, but there are some industries and labour tasks that will increase the chances of getting lower back pain, some include :
- Heavy manual labour and handling tasks in heavy industry
- Sitting at a workstation for a long period of time if the workstation is not correctly arranged or adjusted to fit the person, e.g. working with computers
- Pushing, pulling or dragging loads that require excessive force
- Stretching, twisting and reaching
- Driving long distances or driving over rough ground, particularly if the seat is not, or cannot be, properly adjusted or adequately sprung
- Working beyond normal abilities and limits, and when physically overtired
If you experience any of the above you must talk to your employer, one of the best ways to prevent lower back pain is to do a risk assessment. Have meetings with your workers as they often know the risks associated with the job, see if there is any measures that could be done to make the job more easy.
For example moving loads on wheels, getting 2 people to move instead of 1, do regular risk assessments and implement changes as soon as possible.
If you work in an area where heavy work is required it may be an idea to set up a health monitoring system, although the law does not require this, it will help you monitor the well being of your employees.