Your health and wellbeing is your number one tool
Every August, Steel Blue raises awareness for Beyond Blue in conjunction with the Australian Physiotherapy Association’s “Tradies National Health Month” to highlight the importance of tradies taking care of their physical and mental health.
In the APA 2019 Tradies Health Survey, almost 70% of tradies said they found it hard to do their job if they are not at their physical and mental best.
Furthermore, it was clear that poor physical health often led to poor mental health. Of those tradies who had been injured as a result of their work, 25% said they experienced mental health issues such as depression or anxiety as a result of the injury.
One way to help start the day off right and help reduce the likelihood of injury is as easy as stretching before getting on the tools.
The Australian Physiotherapy Association’s (APA) survey revealed some concerning attitudes amongst tradies and a disconnect between their attitudes to work and sport.
APA National President Phil Calvert said “our research shows that of those tradies who exercise or play sport regularly – more than half will spend a few minutes stretching and warming up because they know this helps reduce injuries. Yet, when it comes to starting work for the day, in many respects another type of ‘sport’, less than a quarter will warm up, even though they know it could prevent stiffness and soreness at the end of the day.”
“Tradies are at particular risk of a range of injuries as a result of the intensity and repetitive nature of their work, so it’s important that they put these preventive health measures in place and get help before little niggles turn into more chronic issues. In this respect physios can be a tradies best friend.”
“It’s a bit like wearing hi-vis clothing on work sites – it’s become very much the norm over the past 10 years because we know that it makes workers safer; it should be the same for stretching before the work day starts.”
For a range of resources on how to identify an injury and the cause, strengthening the body to prevent it recurring and when to seek support, visit the APA website here. Topics range from general health to fractures, back pain, calf, hamstring or quadricep tears and sprain.
Stretches should form part of every workday, here are some simple stretches that can go a long way.
All Steel Blue safety boots are endorsed by the Australian Physiotherapy Association. Key highlights from the Tradies Health Survey 20191 are available here.
1Tradies Health Survey – a national survey of tradies by Empirica Research for the Australian Physiotherapy Association; June 2019. Report available on request.
