Every year approximately 35% of the working population in the U.K. suffer from back pain with a further 17% complaining of pain in their arms and legs. An estimated 12.3 million working days are lost in the U.K. due to work-related musculo-skeletal problems, and this figure is steadily rising.
As a result of the advancement of IT, people are spending longer sitting at their desks without taking natural breaks. Added to this is an increase in stress, which has become a more widespread problem as a result of job uncertainties, changes to work attitudes and lifestyles. Recent statistics have revealed a lack of regular exercise and an increase in obesity at a national scale. These factors alone increase the likelihood of workplace problems.
Many of these musculo-skeletal problems are caused by poor working practices and are ultimately preventable. Ergonomics aims to fit the work to the worker, thus reducing any potential stresses or strains on the worker.
The Yorkshire Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic provides on-site assessment and training in Ergonomics whether it be an individual workstation assessment, backcare awareness class or a group manual handling training session. Please contact us for further information.
Workstation Ergonomic Assessment
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In the Office environment it is important to have workstations set up appropriately to enable the worker to work comfortably and hence perform.
The Workstation Ergonomic Assessment is an assessment of the area that you work in and the tasks that you carry out, relative to your personal abilities.
The aim of the assessment is to identify any risk factors that may be causing current or future health problems, or may be reducing your work performance. The risk factors may be related to the posture that you adopt, the design of your work area, the design of the equipment that you are using and the design of your job or the way in which you carry it out.
Report
Each assessment will be discussed in a written report listing any problems that were identified by the assessor. The report will also provide suggestions for changes related to work equipment (e.g. suitable chair, keyboard, desk etc.), workstation layout, training or task design. Any suggested equipment will be listed along with a list of known suppliers and cost estimates (if requested).
Fee
The standard fee is £90/hour. The fee will include travel time, time spent carrying out assessment/s and time taken to prepare report.
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Backcare Awareness class*
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This is a ½ day course that will educate participants on good backcare. It is designed for office workers and those that may be carrying out lifting tasks as part of their work. After the course participants will:
- Have a basic understanding of the structure and biomechanics of the spine.
- Be able to discuss the risk factors of back pain.
- Be able to recognise dangerous postures and explain why they are dangerous.
- Be able to demonstrate correct posture and body movement when standing and during handling.
- Have a repertoire of basic exercises to continue with at work and home to improve their spinal strength and flexibility.
Fee
The fee for this course is £350.00.
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Manual Handling Training*
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This ½ day course is designed for workers who are carrying out lifting and handling tasks as part of their work. It will cover the following topics:
- The employers and employees responsibilities for HSE compliance.
- Basic spinal anatomy and biomechanics.
- Common types and mechanisms of manual handling injuries.
- How to identify and reduce risks of manual handling relative to work practices and individual behaviour (method of lifting, posture, benefits of exercise etc).
- How to identify and reduce risks of manual handling relative to the task, the load and the working environment.
- Demonstration and practice of basic handling techniques.
- Individual benefits of manual handling education - health and performance, benefits of exercise.
- Demonstration of basic handling techniques.
- Discussion of manual handling problems specific to employees.
Fee
The fee for this course is £350.00.
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* All courses can be modified to suit individual requirements.
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