Working as an Occupational Therapist for Advantage Injury Management Services I see a high volume of injuries to health care workers. This industry requires frequent patient handling which poses a number of risks to workers mainly through their manual handling techniques and habits. In particular aged care workers, disability service workers and nurses are among those most frequently injured at work due to the patient handling requirements of their jobs. The most common injuries in this industry are lower back, neck and shoulders. Often these injuries do not occur from a one off incident such as a poor lift or a poor resident/patient transfer (although this can of course happen). These injuries most commonly occur over a period of time. Wear and tear to lumbar intervertebral discs in the back and rotator cuff tendons in the shoulder can cause bulging discs or tendon tears due to accumulative damage caused by poor posture and incorrect manual handling technique. Evidence suggests that up to one third of injuries in Australia are caused by manual handling tasks. Therefore safe patient handling should be a priority for all employers to ensure low injury risk to their workers.

I often hear clients say “I have done this job in the same way for years without any issues” and “why do I have an injury now?” No one can be certain but I would suggest that these clients have always been at high risk of injury due to poor technique and it was only a matter of time that an injury was to occur. It’s often the “straw that breaks the camel’s back” if you will. Unfortunately many of the clients that I assist with return to work programs in patient care industries have difficulty returning to their full pre-injury role in an uncomplicated timely manner. Their rehabilitation due to the extent of their injuries and the nature of their caring roles can be a drawn out and expensive process. Prevention in my opinion is paramount and the benefits are felt by workers and employers alike.

I feel confident to educate and provide manual handling training to my clients and employers on the safest and most up to date patient manual handling techniques supported by evidence. Advantage Injury Management Services strive to provide excellence in all services and will tailor all training to your workplace specific needs in a practical way. I am a firm believer that worker’s learn best through “doing” rather than being given verbal or written information. Our manual handling training sessions are very practical and industry relevant. If you are interested in booking a patient care manual handling session contact the friendly staff at Advantage Injury Management Services today!

 Blog –  Karly Stockwell (Occupational Therapist)