Every year, after the Christmas holidays, we see a spike in a range of different conditions. In many cases they can be attributed to one thing – rest. My colleague, Russell Dalton, has previously discussed the important role of loading to keep the body work-ready. When we have an extended break from our normal work duties, our bodies decondition to the specific demands of our task. This creates a mismatch between our capacity and the demands of the task, which may increase our risk of some injuries.
So what are the most common injuries we see after the Christmas break and what can you do manage the risk?
- Neck pain
January is neck month. Office based workers, typically, sit poorly and sit too much. The break from our typical 8 hours sitting at a computer workstation is a welcome respite for the body. However, returning to an office role after an extended break is quite a shock to the system, leading to a spike in reported neck pain. Cervicogenic headaches and a range of other sitting related neck pain conditions are common in January and early February.
What can you do about it?
- Ensure all staff are trained in ergonomically setting up their workstation. Workers with an ergonomic workstation set up, have less MSK pain, reduced fatigue, better mood, less workplace stress and greater productivity than those that don’t. It is a wise investment with the payback period for ergonomic workstation intervention typically less than two years.
- Get your workplace moving! All workers should be encouraged to break up periods of sitting with short periods of activity. You don’t need sit stand desks to have an active office. Remember, office activity is a choice. It is important that your workplace promotes office activity and makes it a socially acceptable part of your workplace culture.
- Wrist tendonitis and tenosynovitis
Most common in those performing repetitive manual roles. Cases of wrist tenosynovitis conditions such as intersection syndrome are prevalent in those returning from a holiday.
So what can you do about it?
Ideally, utilise an exercise program pre, during & post-holiday. This will assist to build up capacity, maintain or minimise capacity loss, and a build up capacity upon return, in a safe manner.
- Encourage early reporting of symptoms and ensure workers have access to early assessment and physiotherapy treatment. These duration of symptoms can be drastically reduced with appropriate early management.
- Monitor at risk workers. Keep a close eye on at risk workers and where required, be prepared to reduce the overall workload to prevent symptoms occurring. A gradual build up of load is optimal to reduce the risk of injury.
For more information, contact the team at Employ Health.
We hope you have an injury free start to the year!
