Back pain is such a prevalent issue that it’s one of the top two reasons why people visit the doctor. It’s no surprise then that plenty of resources have been produced to help combat back issues in the workplace.
From standard-issue guidelines to how human factors can compromise back safety, these four resources provide a solid overview of back safety measures.
1. OSHA training guide
OSHA’s Back Injury Instructor Guide provides four lesson plans for in-house training on back injuries. The lessons cover back pain basics, from safe work practices and lifting techniques to the physics of weight and leverage. It also includes visual aids and hands-on demos. There’s nothing new in the lesson plans but they do a good job of providing a solid foundation of back safety training.
2. Common symptoms of back injuries and their causes
Back pain is a generic term that encompasses multiple different spinal and muscular issues. Spine-health.com provides an easy-to-understand primer on the anatomy of common back injuries. It’s not always advisable to overload employees with the details of injuries, but it’s excellent background knowledge for OHS professionals. It’s also good to have on hand in case any employees want more information.
3. Back safety guide (with a focus on overlooked issues)
There are plenty of resources on how to safely lift loads. But they all seem to miss one really important aspect—the reason people sometimes lift objects improperly even when they know the proper techniques.
As this back safety guide outlines, there are personal or human factors that affect decisions around lifting. This incredibly useful and unique guide also offers a few ways around these issues, including proper habit-building and an unusual but effective route to engaging employees on back injuries.
4. Video on lifting technique
This video provides a great visual demonstration of proper lifting form and the need to keep a straight back. It’s always a good idea to work in different media formats in compliance training. If this video isn’t quite what you need, there are plenty of other great video examples out there.