BACK PAIN AND THE WORKPLACE

Back pain is particularly common in adults who are of a working age. It has been estimated millions of working days were lost as a result of musculoskeletal disorders. The majority of these were back pain that was caused or made worse by work. On average, each person with back pain was absent from work for an estimated 18.9 days during this 12-month period. About 13% of unemployed people cite back pain as the reason they are without a job.

WHICH JOBS ARE MOST OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH BACK PAIN
Back pain can arise in many work situations, but certain occupations carry a greater then others. These include:

• heavy manual labouring
• heavy equipment operating
• nursing
• delivery work
• manual packing of goods
• office work involving sitting at a computer station

SITTING CORRECTLY (AS IN THE SECOND DIAGRAM) CAN HELP TO PREVENT BACK PAIN

In general, jobs that involve heavy lifting, handling bulky loads in awkward places, handling vibrating equipment like pneumatic drills or driving long distances over rough ground, can all make back pain worse. Office jobs can also aggravate back pain. Spending all day sitting at a badly adjusted workstation performing a repetitive task like typing or answering the phone, can make the problem worse. A number of exercises can be performed whilst you sit at your desk, which can minimise the chances of suffering from back pain.

WORK-RELATED TASKS THAT CAN AGGRAVATE BACK PAIN
Back aggravator & Workers at high risk

• Lifting heavy objects - Factory workers
• Lifting awkward - Removal men, nurses
• Repetitive actions - Typists, telephonists
• Stretching, twisting, reaching - Mechanics
• Cold temperatures - Fishermen
• Vibration - Driller
• Sitting uncomfortably - Train or bus drivers, supermarket cashiers