People in the workplace suffer from a range of problems which can affect
their health, motivation and ultimately productivity. Typical examples include:
- Repetitive strain (RSI)
- Neck strain
- Back pain
- Sore joints
- Postural problems
In severe cases these conditions can lead to litigation.
PEAK Physiotherapy offers a portfolio of ergonomic and Occupational Health services for
employers which aims to prevent musculoskeletal disorders (as listed above) in the workplace,
and also assists in rapidly returning employees to work following an injury.
Specialist services we provide include:
- On-site workstation assessment/risk assessment for individuals or large companies
- Advice on musculoskeletal management of employees
- Work capacity assessment
- Functional capacity assessment
- Return to work programmes
- Individual/group back 'schools', advising on back care, injury prevention and management
Our Occupational Health Physiotherapist is ACPOHE registered and previous clients have included United Utilities,
Equifax, Zolv.com and Montpelier (Leeds) Ltd Accountants.
The Facts
All employers have a duty of care to protect the health and safety of their employees.
However, lack of expertise in injury management and in individual workstation design can allow
costly mistakes to be made resulting in increased sickness absence and decreased productivity.
RSI costs employers almost £300 million per annum in lost working time, sick pay and administration (ACPOHE, 2008).
The cost of sickness absence in local authorities alone has been estimated at up to £900 million each year (The Ministerial
Taskforce for Health, Safety and Productivity/The Cabinet Office).
Poor posture whilst sat at a computer can cause more back problems than the excessive lifting and carrying done by manual workers (Workplace Law Network, October 2006).
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No One Person is the Same...
On-line DSE assessments/courses may enable employees to gain a basic insight into a correct workstation set-up. However, a physiotherapist
specialising in this area can provide a more in-depth assessment geared towards the individual, and tailor-make the workstation to 'fit' that individual,
along with suitable stretching exercises addressing their specific issues and pains.
An individual assessment should include:
- History and assessment of musculoskeletal problems
- Postural assessment of the individual
- Assessment of the individual's role and tasks at work
- Thorough workstation assessment leading to:
- appropriate and optimal workstation set-up
- individually-tailored stretching exercises and advice
- full ergonomic report package containing all the above information, available to the employee
as a referral guide, and to Management as protection against litigation.
Workstation Seminars
PEAK Physiotherapy can provide specialist workstation seminars for on-site assessors within companies.
The aim of these seminars is to provide on-site assessors with a more in-depth knowledge of workstation
assessments and related issues, which will in turn provide employees with a more thorough and informed workstation
assessment to suit their needs. By the end of the seminar, each delegate should be able to:
- Carry out a standard but thorough workstation assessment and subsequently use their knowledge and training to
organise that workstation to suit an individual's specific needs
- Identify and understand common workstation-related problems and potential hazards
- Understand the common work-related musculoskeletal disorders/injuries and how to identify at what point an
individual may need a more advanced workstation assessment, adaptations and referral on to other professionals
- Advise all employees on basic stretching exercises and postures that may help prevent work-related injuries
Costs
On-site individual workstation assessment (including report package): £70
On-site individual workstation assessment for 2-5 users: £60 each
On-site individual workstation assessment for 6-9 users: £55 each
Workstation seminar for up to 20 delegates: £200
Back to the PEAK Physiotherapy home page.
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