BackCare

BCAW 10th-16th October

12 Oct 2009

BackCare Awareness Week: "Work it out!"

Back pain costs more in terms of time off and lost production than almost any other health problem in the workplace. It is also one of the commonest ailments to strike people.  It is estimated that 80% of adults will experience back pain at some stage in their life. For these reasons the charity BackCare is launching BackCare Awareness Week 2009 with a major focus on the work place.

“Back pain accounts for 4.1 million lost working days and adds up to a £5 billion bill for the economy through sick pay, lost revenue, healthcare, benefits, and so on,”says Sash Newman, chief executive of BackCare, the charity for healthier backs. “That is why everyone – workers and employers – should take the problem of back pain seriously.”

The charity has produced a BackCare Awareness Pack which includes copies of new publications to help office workers, manual workers, and human resources departments, to deal with the problem. The books are full of the latest advice on correct procedures for sitting, typing, lifting, and moving heavy objects. “The aim of our pack is to prevent back pain in the workplace,” adds Sash Newman.

Awareness Week will be backed up by a programme of national and local events, many organised by the charity’s local branches. She added that the workplace was chosen as the focus this year because the charity’s research reveals that back pain makes up the largest proportion of musculoskeletal complaints among workers. It campaigns to persuade employers to recognise the problems around back pain so they can help sufferers and ensure employees can remain productive members of the workforce. It has also drawn up a checklist of things that HR departments can do to help prevent back pain. These include:

• organise educational events to show workers how to look after their backs
• provide training on correct manual handling and lifting techniques
• remind employees to move and stretch and allow more frequent breaks
• promote good posture through ergonomic office furniture promote exercise through discounted fitness club memberships and so on.
  

The charity also urges employers to be more understanding of people suffering back pain by altering their work hours or shift patterns. “Often any changes made are short-lived as most people will recover relatively quickly from a back pain episode or they will learn to manage it so it doesn’t interfere with their work,” adds Sash Newman.

This year’s awareness week is supported by Nurofen and Online Ergonomics. A spokesperson from Nurofen said: “Nurofen  understands the impact that back pain can have in people's life, and wants to support BackCare on their efforts to educate on how to prevent and treat this condition. On the treatment area, Nurofen recognises that the range of pain killers available can be confusing, and therefore have developed a product which is specifically designed to target back pain: Nurofen Back Pain 300mg Sustained Release Capsules (Contains ibuprofen. For Back Pain Relief. Always read the label)

Matt Oliver from Online Ergonomics said: “Back Pain significantly affects the lives of hundreds of thousands in the UK and has an adverse impact on every aspect of daily life.  Online Ergonomics are supporting Backcare Awareness Week because prevention is always better than cure and the widest possible exposure of the problem helps raise public awareness.'