Back Care
BackCare is The Charity for Healthier Backs. Each year they lead a Back Care Awareness week. This week is an opportunity to promote BackCare and their aim of promoting healthier backs for all.
Download our newsletter "Straight Up". This edition is all about back pain.
At the Jersey Sports & Spinal Clinic, we aim to do just that. We can offer a number of services designed to help individuals and employers that have employees with back pain (see our Treatments and Occupational Health pages). Alternatively other local organisations such as JEND (Jersey Employers Network on Disability Tel 280446) and JOSHA (Jersey Occupational Safety and Health Association see Jersey Safety Council) may be able to help.
Whatever your job, look after your back....
Download our top tips here
Why? Well back pain will affect 80% of us at some point in our lives. Thankfully for most of us the efffects will be shortlived and we will be able to get on with our lives. For those where this is not the case the effects can be lifechanging can arise in and from many work and home situations. The exact cause is often unclear, but according to the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE), “back pain is more common in tasks that involve:
• heavy manual labour, and handling tasks in heavy industry;
• manual handling in awkward places, like delivery work;
• repetitive tasks, such as manual packing of goods;
• sitting at a workstation for a long period of time if the workstation is not correctly arranged or adjusted to fit the person, eg working with computers;
• driving long distances or driving over rough ground, particularly if the seat is not, or cannot be, properly adjusted or adequately sprung. Operating heavy equipment, such as an excavator (or tractor), can lead to excessive jolting and jarring.”
Some physical activities can also aggravate existing back pain, or at least be more difficult to manage when you have back pain. According to the HSE these include:
• bending over, stooping or crouching
• working at PCs (poor posture / prolonged periods);
• lifting objects which are too heavy or bulky, carrying objects awkwardly - think of the shopping bags you often carry as you open your front door!
• pushing, pulling or dragging excessive loads;
• working beyond normal abilities and limits – think of all that gardening that now needs doing!
• using poor lifting techniques (or where you are unable to use lifting aids due to the working environment);
• stretching, twisting and reaching; (new mums – consider the position you carry your children in, breastfeeding positions and getting children in / out of car seats – never mind how much those car seats weigh on their own)
• prolonged periods in one position, leading to postural strain;
• being physically overtired
• situations where the whole body is subjected to vibration, jolting and jarring.
