WorkSpace Week 2023
Did you know that 7 million Australians suffer from musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace? What is a musculoskeletal disorder? It’s a range of inflammatory and degenerative conditions that affect the spine, muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, bones, peripheral nerves and supporting blood vessels, which can cause neck and back pain. What causes musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace? Many factors can trigger them including but not limited to, stress and anxiety, lifting and bending incorrectly, poor posture, prolonged periods of standing and/or extended periods of sitting.
To help raise awareness of these problems and provide practical ways you can minimise risk at your workplace, the Australian Chiropractors Association (ACA) has launched WorkSpace Week, with a theme of Work Well Anywhere.
Australian Chiropractors Association (ACA) WorkSpace Week, 2-8 October 2023
Prevention and early intervention is the best protection. As such, in conjunction with this ACA initiative, we’re most pleased to provide a range of free downloadable resources which you can use at your workplace, to encourage best practice to maintain good spinal health. Please see below.
- My Healthy Workspace – Stretches To Work Well Anywhere. This is a series of 5 stretches which can be incorporated into your daily life. You can download a poster showing these stretches here.
- Sitting Well – If your occupation requires you to sit for extended periods of time, then you should plan to take regular breaks, with stretching and hydration throughout the day. It’s also important to maintain good posture. For more information, please download the ACA Sitting Well Factsheet here.
- Standing Well – People who stand for more than 4 hours every day are at higher risk of developing lower back pain. There are ways you can maintain a healthy spine, which includes posture, footwear, exercise and stretches. For more information, please download the ACA Standing Well Factsheet here.
- Lifting and Bending Well – This is perhaps the most obvious way you would expect to injure your back or neck in the workplace, through incorrect and unsafe lifting and bending techniques. However, there are ways to minimise your risk which includes assessment and planning, stance and movement during the lifting motion. For more information on how you can maintain a healthy spine while bending and lifting at work, please download the ACA Lifting and Bending Well Factsheet here.
- Stress and Headaches – Stress can impact your health and wellbeing in many ways and can cause tension headaches. For more information surrounding this, please download the ACA Work Well Anywhere Headache Factsheet. Chiropractic care can provide effective, drug-free pain relief to headache and migraine sufferers, using a range of specialised, non-surgical techniques, and manual manipulations. We refer to it as a ‘healing hands’ approach and provide more information on this on our website.
Another helpful resource for those working from home and/or in an office situation is the ACA Ergonomic Checklist, which provides a range of simple steps and suggestions, which will help to optimise your computer workspace to minimise the risk of developing a work-related musculoskeletal disorder.
At Stratford Chiropractic we are passionate about supporting you on all stages of your health journey. Dr Karen Hansor utilises a range of techniques to restore appropriate nerve function to the body and can assist with stress, posture, back and neck pain, sciatica, balance and inflammation. For more information, or to make an appointment to come in and see us, you can book online or call on (07) 4055 1667.