Work related injuries

Millions of working days are lost each year due to occupational injuries. If you have pain from a work related injury or posture, osteopathic treatment and advice may help you. All of our osteopaths are trained in workstation assessment and manual handling and can give you appropriate advice on your specific needs.

Computer and office work

Sitting at a computer can lead to a variety of aches and pains, many of which can be treated quickly and successfully by Osteopathy: computer hump, mouse finger, repetitive strain injury, can all respond well to deep soft tissue of the arms muscles and balancing of the elbow and wrist joints.

Farming

Taking time off work is not an option for most of our farmers. Low back pain and stiffness, sciatica, hip and knee problems commonly affect these workers. Relief from pain can often be achieved by treatment and careful management of your workload.

Slightly altering your posture whilst doing certain jobs can often make enough of a difference to allow the healing process to begin.    

Case history- farmer with low back and neck pain

A male farmer in his early 50’s sees us once or twice a year for low back and neck pain. Hours of sitting on the tractor looking over his shoulder locks up his neck, whilst his low back suffers from stiffness and pain because of the lack of suspension on his older model tractor. 1-2 visits at the end of each harvest allows him to resolve his problems to an acceptable level, until the next harvest time.

Case History- farmer with shoulder pain

A female farmer in her 40's came to us with shoulder pain. We quickly established that her symptoms were because of the repetitive stretching forwards with her left arm whilst milking each day. A short course of treatment and advice on stretches for the shoulder and chest region helped to resolve her problem.

Building and manual workers

Low back pain and disc problems are the most common ailments in this profession. The combination of recurrent bending and lifting are the main reasons for injury. Underestimating the weight or awkwardness of a load may cause a sudden and unexpected loading of the spine.

In some cases it is the repetition of certain movements that gradually wears out the discs and eventually a bulge or prolapse will occur.

Getting advice early is crucial. If you have recurrent episodes of minor pain try and have it sorted out,as in some cases it can be the first signs of disc trouble.

Driving problems

Many people drive for hours each day. This can lead to low back pain or neck and shoulder problems.  We can offer advice on how to set up your car and try to avoid problems occurring. A study by the British Osteopathic Association (BOA) showed that 45% of UK drivers have their head restraints or seats set up incorrectly increasing their risk of significant injury if in an accident. For the full details of how to best set up your car seat download our information sheet on car seat positioning.      

Taking time off work because of injury is not an option for everyone. We treat many workers who are self employed or run companies and cannot afford to take long periods of time off when they are sick. If you have pain but are not able to take time off of work for your injury we can see you promptly usually within 2 days and offer you a diagnosis and guidance on what to do next.

Employers

Osteopathy can be an extremely effective way of ensuring your workforce remain fit and healthy or recover more quickly from posture or work related injuries.  Prevention is better than cure, checkups and maintenance treatment for those who have a history of problems will help to spot postural problems that are beginning to build up and keep staff motivated to keep up with exercises or stretches.