A T T E N T I O N T R A D I E S
We all know that tradies work very physical jobs, but first let’s take a moment to look at some interesting statistics. These statistics are from the 2019 survey conducted by the Australian Physiotherapy Association for Tradies National Health Month 2019.
- 32% of tradies admitted to not following safe lifting guidelines
- Only 24% of tradies warm up or stretch before work
- Of the tradies who get injured at work, 82% have joint, soft tissue or musculoskeletal injuries – all things that physio can help with!
- 88% of tradies said they take good care of their tools compared to 61% who take good care of their bodies
- 69% said that being sore is just ‘normal’ for the work they do
- Statistics show that 3 in 5 serious workplace injuries involve a tradie – this is interesting considering the fact that tradies only make up approximately 30% of the work force!
The most common presentations we see tradies with are:
- Knee pain
- Patellofemoral pain syndrome
- Meniscal injury
- Ligamentous injury
Shoulder pain
- Subacromial impingement
- Bursitis
- Rotator cuff injury
- AC joint injury
- Back pain
- Low back pain
- Mid to upper back pain
Elbow pain
- Tennis elbow
- Golfers elbow
These do not cover them all but are some common examples!
Why are tradies more susceptible to injury?
- Repetitive work
- Lifting heavy loads
- Lifting awkward loads
- Minimal warm up before the work day commences
- Belief that being sore is 'normal' for their line of work
Along with treating the common injuries mentioned above, we can also help to prevent injury occurring in the first place.
So what can physiotherapy do to help tradies prevent injury?
- Assessment work-related activities
- Assessment of functional strength to identify any deficits
- Guidance around lifting technique
- Strength training (useful for heavy loads)
- Endurance training (useful for repetitive activities)
- Manual therapy (e.g. massage, dry needling, joint mobilisations) to help with pain and movement
If you are a tradie and have an injury or would like guidance around injury prevention, give us a call on 6281 2499 and one of our physiotherapists will be able to help you out!