DISPLAY ON ALL RELEVANT HSE NOTICEBOARDS

SAFETY BRIEFING NOTE– 01/2018

Manual Handling – Protecting your spinal health

Background:

In relation to last briefing note in December – here are some handy tips on protecting your spinal health (neck and spine) whilst at work.

The back is particularly vulnerable to manual handling injuries. In addition to undertaking a proper risk assessment and lifting using recognised training techniques – there are some personal controls that you can also do to maintain healthy spines.

•Lift and carry heavy loads correctly by keeping the load close to the body and lifting with the thigh muscles.

•Never attempt to lift or carry loads if you think they are too heavy.

•Pushing a load (using your body weight to assist) will be less stressful on your body than pulling a load.

•Use mechanical aids or get help to lift or carry a heavy load whenever possible.

•Organise the work area to reduce the amount of bending, twisting and stretching required.

•Take frequent breaks.

•Cool down after heavy work with gentle, sustained stretches.

•Improve your fitness – exercise regularly to strengthen muscles and ligaments, and reduce excess body fat.

•Warm up cold muscles with gentle stretches before engaging in any manual work.

What happens if you don’t prepare well enough

Many of the steps you can take to improve the overall health of your spine involve nothing more than practicing better body mechanics, or how you move and hold yourself, when you do daily tasks and activities.

•Sleep tight. Sleeping well is important to your overall health. Your body needs a good night's sleep to repair itself. Sleep on your side, not your stomach: Sleeping on your stomach puts too much pressure on your spine. Sleeping on your side also reduces upper airway collapse, helping to prevent sleep apnoea symptoms and give you a better night's rest.

•Keeping flexible helps maintain normal joint function and a good range of motion. It also reduces the risk of injury. If you start your day with a few good stretches, it can not only be invigorating, but can also promote spinal health.

• The best exercise routine for your back and neck is one that combines stretching, strengthening, and aerobic activity.

•Maintain a healthy weight. Exercise, along with a healthy diet, also helps you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight or obese, or quickly gaining a significant amount of weight, are risk factors for low back pain — excess weight, especially if you have belly fat, can put added stress on the muscles, ligaments, and tendons in your lower back.

•Stay hydrated. "Staying hydrated is important to maintaining soft tissue elasticity and fluidity in joints. Our intervertebral (spinal) disks are vulnerable to loss of hydration and can begin to lose height." As spinal disks begin to shrink, you become more susceptible to painful disk conditions. Herniated disks, also known as slipped or ruptured disks, occur when the loss of fluid causes the disks to become brittle and eventually slip out of place.

•Pay attention to any warning signs. Don't ignore spinal problems or pain. Although it’s common to have back pain once in a while, it can indicate a more serious problem. Left untreated, problems with your spine can worsen and become quite serious. "Listen to what your body is telling you,"

Simple stretching to avoid injury

Allison Connick

National Director of HS&E

Prepared by / Approved by / Issue Date / Alert Ref No / Source / Attachments / Pages
Allison Connick / A Connick, National Director HSE / 5th Jan 2018 / 01/2018 / Internal / none / 1 of 2