HEALTH & SAFETY ON A KNEED TO KNOW BASIS
Manufacturer of specialist cushioning and protection products, Redbacks Cushioning Ltd, offers advice on precautions and methods tillers can take to protect their knees at work.
‘ Accidents will happen’ is a phrase that is commonly used in any walk of life but, as anyone who works in the tiling and stone industry knows, there can be a lot of accidents just waiting to happen on a daily basis. However most site accidents can be avoided by maintaining constant awareness and vigilance, and the correct planning and preparation will do much to keep operators safer.
There are a number of basic precautions to be taken, of course, but one of the most important measures to pay careful attention to is the use of proper personal protective equipment (PPE). There are a few dangers which are specific to the trade, for example the glaze on the surface of glazed tiles is really a layer of glass and is just as sharp. Raw edges and splinters are produced when tiles are being cut. These should be handled carefully and disposed of safely.
You should always wear gloves when clearing away debris. Protection for eyes, feet and hands is clearly vital but it is often the case that not enough attention is given to two other important parts of the body – the knees! Work tidily.
A common accident is kneeling on a nail or some other sharp item left lying around. But there’s much more to it than that. (Recommended reading is ‘Ceramic and Stone Tiling: A Complete Guide’ by John Ripley)
Many professionals in tiling or stone laying, or any occupation that involves spending any length of time kneeling, are seriously underestimating the amount of long-term damage they could be doing to their knees- ultimately adversely affecting their mobility and even future finances through being unable to work.
Our knees are complex. Often thought of as a simple hinge in our legs, knees in fact support the majority of our body weight and, besides kneeling, allow us to stand, walk, run, climb stairs, kick, crouch, sit, and stand up again.
Workplace injuries to knees are not uncommon. It is said that one knee injury is attributed to about 15 days away from work. The knees are the largest joints in our body. Each is made up of the three main leg bones (femur, tibia, and fibula) and the knee cap (patella). Cartilage helps lubricate bone movement along with fluid-filled sacs called bursa, which cushion direct impacts to the knees. If the tendons and ligaments that hold the knee components together become weak or damaged, the bones can become misaligned, resulting in pain or injury.
However, there a lot of practical things you can do to protect yourself or advise the people who work for you; for example, try not to twist the knee joint while it is bent to do the job as this increases the risk of injury. Kneeling or squatting for extended periods places a lot of pressure on knee joints. It is important to relieve that pressure by moving the joint through its full range of motion: bending, stretching, and flexing the knee and leg-at regular intervals. This activity helps the knee's shock-absorbing tissues to better absorb synovial fluid, thus improving lubrication of the joint and reducing the risk of injury.
Dirty clothing can result in skin infections for people who spend a lot of time on their knees, so make sure that at least the knee areas of work trousers are kept as clean as possible. Constantly moving around on knees without the correct protection can cause friction which, in turn, can lead to skin abrasion from internal shear forces within
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