Work Place Assessments
Due to health and safety directives, employers are faced with ever increasing demands for professional and thorough work place assessments. It is common for HR departments to have trained staff who perform these assessments. Although there is an understanding of what is required, essentially every employee is different and therefore the same rules cannot be applied to every person.
The following are the more common conditions resulting from poor work station setups:
Repetitive strain injury: Generally this is described as symptoms of the neck, arm and wrist. However please see article of RSI for a more detailed explanation.
Eye strain: This is often a result of VDU work and is a particular problem for workers who concentrate on the screen for long periods. Symptoms can range from sore eyes or head aches to visual disturbances. Badly positioned screens and poor lighting are contributors to this.
Back problems: These are the most common form of ill health at work. If workstations are not set up correctly for the individual employee, they are at risk of pain and discomfort. Often ensuring that regular breaks are taken to walk around can be all that is needed. The lack of fluid movement through body tissues (i.e. sitting in one place for a long time) can have huge impact on the working structures of the body. For more information regarding back pain, please refer to the article on back pain.
Although the above has been focused on the office environment, it does not matter whether work is at a computer terminal or in heavy industry, pain and injury can develop if proper work place assessments are not carried out. So if you feel that by the end of your working day you are experiencing aches and pains it may well be due to your working environment. It is advisable to seek professional advice as soon as possible to ensure it does not develop further.
An osteopath has expert knowledge on what the body needs for optimal functioning. Further still, an osteopath tailors treatment and advice to the individual, based on their occupation and lifestyle. There are many osteopaths who now work within companies, working alongside HR staff to ensure expert advice is available.
To find an osteopath in your area, please follow the link below:
Work Place Assessments
The following are the more common conditions resulting from poor work station setups:
Repetitive strain injury: Generally this is described as symptoms of the neck, arm and wrist. However please see article of RSI for a more detailed explanation.
Eye strain: This is often a result of VDU work and is a particular problem for workers who concentrate on the screen for long periods. Symptoms can range from sore eyes or head aches to visual disturbances. Badly positioned screens and poor lighting are contributors to this.
Back problems: These are the most common form of ill health at work. If workstations are not set up correctly for the individual employee, they are at risk of pain and discomfort. Often ensuring that regular breaks are taken to walk around can be all that is needed. The lack of fluid movement through body tissues (i.e. sitting in one place for a long time) can have huge impact on the working structures of the body. For more information regarding back pain, please refer to the article on back pain.
Although the above has been focused on the office environment, it does not matter whether work is at a computer terminal or in heavy industry, pain and injury can develop if proper work place assessments are not carried out. So if you feel that by the end of your working day you are experiencing aches and pains it may well be due to your working environment. It is advisable to seek professional advice as soon as possible to ensure it does not develop further.
An osteopath has expert knowledge on what the body needs for optimal functioning. Further still, an osteopath tailors treatment and advice to the individual, based on their occupation and lifestyle. There are many osteopaths who now work within companies, working alongside HR staff to ensure expert advice is available.
To find an osteopath in your area, please follow the link below:
Work Place Assessments
