FEATURE
arms at the side of their body, lift their shoulders towards their ears as high as possible, hold for two seconds, then lower to the start position and repeat. Repeating exercises like this ten times, twice- a-day, can reduce tightness and maintain correct range of movement. Employers should make their employees aware of exercises such as this, which aim to safeguard against MSDs.
“ALMOST 30% OF
REPORTED WORKPLACE INJURIES OCCUR IN OFFICE-BASED JOBS.”
they sit properly – but also keep moving. Sitting in any static position, no matter how good their posture, for a long period puts the body under strain. In fact, while standing upright puts 100 units of pressure on the spine, sitting down increases that to 140 units – and sitting incorrectly almost doubles it to 185 units. Employees should always try to sit so that their ear, shoulder and hip are in line, ensuring the spine is in its natural ‘S’ curve.
“BACK PAIN IS CURRENTLY THE
LARGEST REPORTED
REASON FOR SICKNESS ABSENCE IN THE UK.”
There are a number of simple exercises that can be done by employees who spend a long time at their desks - or those who do more physical roles - to relieve tightness in the shoulders and therefore help to reduce the chance of injury. For example, while sat in the correct position an employee can relax their
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Though preventative measures are invaluable, many businesses are now working with external providers to establish a cost-effective service that provides faster access to physiotherapy and therefore speed up recovery when an injury does occur. Remote physiotherapy services can improve work efficiency, facilitate an early return to work, reduce the risk of further absence due to injury recurrence and provide education on injuries. From an employer’s point of view, these services can cost-effectively deliver great results in terms of reduction in sickness absence.
At Physio Med we have an established system which can be integrated to work in partnership with HR and OH departments and ensure timely intervention from physiotherapy professionals. Employees who report an injury to their HR department can be contacted by our Physiotherapy Advice Line (PAL) for telephone triage within hours of referral to ensure they are clinically appropriate for treatment. They then quickly receive an initial assessment call from a Senior Chartered Physiotherapist, which incorporates a series of evidence- based clinical questions and
movements to facilitate diagnosis. They are then either referred for face-to-face treatment or, in the majority of cases, continue with our remote physiotherapy service which provides employees with an individually tailored web-based self-management plan and exercise programme, communicated via comprehensive video exercise files, and accessed via a computer, smartphone or tablet.
One of the major advantages of this online service is that employees can self-manage their condition at a time that suits them, as this flexible treatment program means employees aren’t tied down to appointment times.
From an employer’s point of view, as well as putting a proverbial arm around employees, this system offers great results in terms of reduction in sickness and absence, plus cost-effectiveness.
The majority of patients remain at or return to work when they might normally be absent, and are often discharged after just ten days with a reported average reduction in pain of up to 68%. One leading dairy producer reported that 86% of those off sick at the point of referral returned to work, plus a 28% increase in productivity and function that equated to 1.4 days per-person-per-week.
The average return on investment is more than 10:1 and because the remote service operates on a pay-as- you-use basis, it is a scalable service that allows businesses of all sizes to access the benefits.
Back pain is something that can affect anyone in almost any job role so having good working environment practices set up and a cost-effective mechanism in place to help employees deal with their illness while minimising the impact on a company makes sound business sense. There is no doubt about it: when it comes to improving employee wellbeing, reducing sickness absence should be at the top of every firm’s agenda.
www.physiomed.co.uk TOMORROW’S FM | 25
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