Does back pain prevention training work?
Research completed by Dr Jos Verbeek at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki strongly suggests that giving employees even the best recommended back injury prevention training is a waste of time and money.
The study, which sampled more than 18,000 workers in industries known for causing back pain revealed that there was no difference in back pain where one group received training in lifting techniques and the other did not.
For years we have been training employees to bend at the knees, keep a straight back and not to twist when handling objects.
The researchers concluded that either the techniques did not work, or workers do not change their methods sufficiently to make a difference.
In fact, Dr Verbeek said that there was one small study that indicated a “no lifting policy” was “possibly the best way to avoid back pain”.
Perhaps we should all be asking ourselves “Do we really want employees to lift or carry heavy objects, or is there a safer way to get the job done?”
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