Back to Basics

Begin by reminding employees that their backs are full-time workers, involved in all their daily activities and requiring 24-hour-a-day attention. Tell your workers that a good diet and moderate exercise, including gentle stretching of their legs and back and toning of the stomach muscles, are important in keeping their backs free of pain. However, warn them not to strain their backs trying to stay in shape, especially if they are just starting an exercise regimen. They need to check with their healthcare provider for a healthy exercise regime.

Sleep is another off-the-job activity that has much to do with back health. Let employees know that a too-soft mattress can cause back pain, as can sleeping on their stomachs. The best sleeping position is lying on their side with a small pillow between their knees. Lying on their back is OK, too, if they keep a pillow under their knees.

Ask workers to use safe lifting techniques off the job. Remind them that children can be heavy, so adults need to bend their knees when picking up kids. This is also true when lifting a garage door, grocery bags, trash bags, or doing any other household lifting chores.

When workers drive, advise them to sit with their backs against the seat, legs bent, and with knees higher than the seat.

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Back health continues on the job, of course. Admonish workers not to lift loads that are too heavy for them. Make sure they take into account the number of times they have to lift similar loads.

While they may be fine lifting 30 or 40 pounds once or twice, lifting that weight all day can hurt their backs. If they have to lift all day, the top weight should be about 14 pounds. Workers also need to take into account how far away from their bodies they have to reach to lift an object. For example, a worker who lifts parts over a workbench to put them on a conveyor 2 feet away may be able to lift only a 5-pound load without back damage.

Encourage workers to get help lifting for big, frequent, or awkward jobs. In some instances, they may need to use material-handling equipment. In other cases, they may need to ask a co-worker to help. In the latter situation, encourage your workers to go ahead and ask for assistance. Point out to them that if they don’t get help from a co-worker today for the 5 minutes it takes to lift or move a load, their co-worker may end up doing their entire job for the 5 days the original workers are out with a back strain!

For your employees to keep their backs healthy and strong, they need to eat well (to prevent weight gain, especially around the middle), exercise, rest, and use good judgment. That way, your workers can keep the 400 muscles, 1,000 tendons, 31 pairs of nerves, and 33 vertebrae of their backs pain-free and in good working order.

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Why It Matters

• According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), back injuries account for nearly 20 percent of all injuries and illnesses in the workplace, which impact more than 1 million workers.
• According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), back injuries cost the nation between $20 billion to $50 billion per year.

• One out of every five workers in this country who is hurt and off the job for a day or more has a back problem.
• One out of every five workers who becomes disabled because of a work-related injury is the victim of a problem back. Because these numbers are so high, it’s important for us to discuss how to keep your back healthy and strong.

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