DYNAMICS OF SPORT LEGAL ISSUES

hand or some other bodily force. Employees and the self-employed should be trained in correct lifting, carrying and handling techniques. Details of any manual handling training should be recorded and retained. The correct procedure for manual handling is to bend your knees, keep your back straight and lift the object by straightening your legs (Figure 2). Certain maneouvres are a fundamental part of our work, coming under “the moving of an object” category, and therefore falling within manual handling law. One obviously risky area for the practitioner is in the transportation of portable beds. Have you considered passive movement, or supporting your limbs and stretching? Another consideration is the risk involved when helping transfer disabled athletes. Lower back pain is a common problem in sports therapy work, often being caused by over-reaching or over-stretching or by being cramped while performing work activities. To this end, you should minimise the amount of stretching or reaching you do, and try to design your working area ergonomically, making sure you have a good working posture at all times. Certain activities and conditions are always best avoided, as listed in Box 4!

HEALTH AND SAFETY (FIRST AID) REGULATIONS 1981 This requires that someone else can “take charge” in an emergency situation. This person must be an appointed first-aider (holding a first aid certificate approved by the Health and Safety Executive) and must be available whenever people are at work. Larger establishments are required to have designated first-aiders, as well as printed notices on display that lists the names of the designated first-aiders and how to contact them.

FIRST AID KITS Fully stocked first-aid kits should be made available too. Notices should be displayed describing where any first- aid boxes are located. Boxes should contain all the items that a first-aider has been trained to use, which might include dressings such as bandages, pins and strapping, as well as antidotes for industry-specific hazards. Medication is generally not allowable, although some establishments are

www.sportEX.net BOX 3: NOTIFIABLE DISEASES

n Anthrax n Cholera n Diphtheria n Dysentery n Encephalitis (acute) n Food poisoning n Hepatitis (viral) n Leptospirosis n Malaria n Measles n Meningitis n Meningococcal septicaemia n Mumps n Ophthalmia neonatorum n Paratyphoid fever n Plague n Poliomyelitis (acute) n Rabies n Relapsing fever n Rubella n Scarlet fever n Smallpox n Tetanus n Tuberculosis n Typhoid fever/typhus n Viral haemorrhagic fever n Whooping cough n Yellow fever

precautions. This affects the practitioner who uses products such as talcum powder, which is a respiratory sensitiser, or mediums that can trigger allergies or irritations (such as nut- based oils).

1. keep your back straight 2. bend your knees 3. lift the object by straightening your legs

Figure 2: Correct stance for manual handling

permitted to include certain work- related antidotes if they are deemed necessary. The first aid box of a sports massage practitioner is likely to include strapping for compression and ice. Further information on first aid can

be found at www.hse.gov.uk/firstaid/ index.htm and for an idea of a well- stocked first aid box see Box 5. First aid provisions at sporting

events have their own requirements as summarised in Box 6.

CONTROL OF SUBSTANCES HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH (COSHH) 1999 The law also requires that employers and self-employed individuals assess any risks from hazardous substances and that they take appropriate

BOX 4: THINGS TO AVOID AT WORK

n Over-reaching n Over-stretching n Poor posture and body position n Irregular breathing patterns n Cramped working conditions n Unergonomic work-station n Extremes of temperature

Respiratory sensitisers and irritant substances can cause undesirable reactions in cramped or unventilated areas, therefore appropriate precautions should always be taken. A respiratory sensitiser is a substance that triggers an allergic reaction in the respiratory system when inhaled, so adequate ventilation or extraction systems will prevent any build-up in the air. The precise level of precautions needed will depend on your specific circumstances of course, but it is inadequate if anyone is affected by coughing, breathlessness, chest tightness or a runny nose. Thorough assessment must be practised in order to ascertain whether your clients are likely to react badly to any of the products you are using. It is worth mentioning here that you should also make sure the products you use do not contain any banned substances. It is safer all round to stick with bland mediums.

CONCLUSION This aim of this article was to raise awareness among sports massage practitioners in the UK about the vast range of health and safety legislation that affects their everyday practice. We are often in high-risk situations without being aware of it, for example when we work with people who are partially undressed or have to move equipment and beds. Such situations are potentially dangerous or compromising. Our particular working environment also places multiple demands on us, meaning that our roles are dynamic and physical and can change on a daily basis. Much legislation is simply common sense, of course, and it often seems that our society has gone “legislation” crazy, but it is important to remember that we now live in a

PROTECT THE GENERAL PUBLIC, YOURSELF AND ALL EMPLOYEES

LAWS AND LEGISLATION ARE PUT IN PLACE TO

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