Tradies reported in a survey that 79% take good care of their tools. Only, 47% take good care of their bodies.
Throughout the month of August, the Australian Physiotherapy association (APA) has talent he initiative to raise awareness for the importance of tradies health. From research it is suggested that 60% of Tradies experience aches and pains as a result of their job. Statistics also suggest that almost 3 in 5 serious workplace injuries involve a tradie even though they only make up 35% of the workforce. The month of August is therefore dedicated to raising awareness for the importance of looking after tradie’s health.
In general tradies are prone to a wide variety of injuries due to the high intensity and the repetitive nature of the work that many tradies must complete as part of their job. This has been further increased due COVID-19 which has shown to cause a dramatic increase in workload within the whole construction industry.
As well as the nature of tradies workload it was also discovered in a survey completed by tradies that almost ¼ of employees had lower back pain, knee and shoulder injuries however hadn’t sought out treatment. From a Physiotherapy perspective, it is important for all patients to seek treatment early. It has been proven clinically that the people who put off treatment and don’t address their ‘niggles’ are more likely to have poorer outcomes of treatment, more likely to develop chronic pain and more likely to sustain life-long injuries. Early Physiotherapy intervention is more effective at reducing swelling, improving mobility and therefore reducing the time spent off work in the long term.
Secondary to physical injuries that tradies are suffering there is a comprehensive link between physical health and mental health. 20% of tradies surveyed said that they were experiencing mental health issues as a result of a physical injury that occurred at work. When considering that a tradie may be experiencing poor physical and mental health, they are also going to be experiencing a loss of income due to extended times of work. It is estimated that within Australia tradies are losing $1.37 billion annually.
Throughout the month of August, it is more important than ever to be looking out for Tradies and encouraging them to look after their overall health. If you see a Tradie struggling to walk, struggling to bend forwards or backwards, struggling to squat or showing any signs of pain or discomfort encourage them to come in a see one of our friendly Physiotherapists. Our physiotherapists can complete an assessment on them and work out the best plan for management of their injuries going forward. Even if you’re a Tradie or know a tradie and their not experiencing any pain it would be beneficial to come in and get a plan to prevent injuries due to a physically demanding job.
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