Don't Forget to Look After YOU!

All jobs take a toll on your health and wellbeing in some way or another. Couple this with an industry involving long hours, heavy lifting, extreme personalities, tight deadlines and financial instability – it can all add up to a recipe for disaster if not managed properly. NZTECHO takes some pointers from Wellington’s Willis Street Physiotherapy.

It may be that you are carrying heavy equipment around or using it in awkward positions. You may be sitting at a post-production desk for long periods of time. You may be standing for hours on end reaching and bending while applying makeup or doing hair. You may be driving a vehicle for long distances. You may be loading or unloading equipment. Anything that is in general repetitive.

Of course, there are other stresses like long hours, working in challenging environments/conditions and difficult workplace relationships with colleagues or bosses. While certainly these mental stresses along with repetitive sitting, standing, lifting or handling can largely impact your health and wellbeing, it is also important to consider that other factors also play a big part. Home lifestyle, stresses and choices included. There is the daily lifting and handling involved with everyday jobs at home – loading/unloading dishwashers or washing machines, reaching into cupboards, hanging out washing, making beds, lifting children, bending to bathe/change babies or even carrying out hobbies and socialising. Top this off with financial pressures, maintaining personal relationships and looking after family matters. Your health and wellbeing is impacted by a combination of many factors. All-in-all there is a lot going on.

So what can you do?

There are seven categories to describe where health and wellbeing risks lie. The categories are important in emphasising that discomfort, pain and injury is not just related to sitting, standing, lifting or handling at work. Take each category and identify what you can do to reduce your chance of discomfort, pain or injury. Remember these involve home as well as work.

Individual factors

Can you:

• Improve your diet, hydration, health and fitness?
• Get to bed earlier, get a massage or have a spa or hot bath to help relax tired or overworked muscles?
• Give up smoking?
• Stand up often to break up sitting?
• Get your eyes checked?

Psychosocial factors

Can you:

• Improve your relationship with your work colleagues, boss, partners or in-laws?
• Remember that discomfort or pain is normal and may not necessarily be as bad as it feels. To actually go out for a walk or swim may actually help you.

Work organisation

Can you:

• Talk to your colleagues or bosses to try to find workable solutions so that you do not get too overwhelmed or stressed?
• If you have had a busy physical day, explain this to your sports coach at training that evening so that you can do something else rather than risk further injury and missing your game in the weekend. If you have had a heavy ‘sitting’ day you should not spend the evening sitting undertaking your particular hobby or social networking on your wireless device.

Work layout/awkward postures

Can you:

• Think of ways to reduce awkward aspects of your job? You may want to consider a sit-stand desk if you sit all day. You may have to do specific ‘undo’ stretches or exercises if you find you are always reaching or turning to one side.
• Think about the design of your house, the type of dining/lounge furniture, the set-up and layout of your lounge and TV. The postures you adopt when relaxing at home.

Task invariability

Can you:

• Talk to your colleagues/boss to identify areas where you could improve the job so that you can cycle through tasks and postures so that there is more variety and less sustained positions?
• Reduce your TV watching, hobbies, gaming or social networking at home if you have had a particularly very busy sedentary day at work and even better go for a walk, swim or cycle?
• Reduce your DIY in the evenings or weekends when you have had a very busy day/week of lifting and handling at work?

Load/forceful movements

Can you:

• Reduce the force and therefore the chance of discomfort, pain or injury by using correct lifting and handling techniques, contracting the core muscles, using two-man lifts as necessary, keeping the load close to the body and avoiding twisting? This applies to home and work.

Environmental issues

Can you:

• Talk to your work regarding temperature, ventilation, lighting?
• Ensure that your home is also warm and dry and dust-free?

Remember discomfort, pain and injury is multi-factorial. If you can adjust, reduce or eliminate any contributory factor then it will lessen your chance of discomfort, pain or injury affecting your life. If you have discomfort, pain or injury that is not improving, do something about it - see your local doctor or physiotherapist.

Article provided by Willis Street Physiotherapy, www.willisstreetphysiotherapy.co.nz