We must insist on the importance of lifestyle habits in order to be able to maintain our health and prevent pathologies. In this sense, we are going to focus on a science that is unknown to many and neglected, ergonomics.
What is ergonomics?
Ergonomics is defined as the science that studies the efforts and movements of people while they work. It seeks to be able to adjust and adapt them to make them more efficient. It also deals with the design of the workplace environment, the systematic performance of tasks and the tools and materials to be used to perform their work.
Finally, ergonomics studies activities or exercises complementary to the activity that allow workers to rebalance, stretching, dosage of effort, etc., useful for avoiding severe injuries.
Many of the bad positions, repetitive trauma or inopportune efforts can be the cause of back pain. But physical and mental fatigue can also be factors in low back pain.
How can we prevent back pain at work?
The best way is to make the worker aware in order to avoid inappropriate efforts and to be able to protect himself.
We can make some recommendations:
If the work is seated:
- It is necessary to have the back straight and with the table at elbow level.
- Keep the objects for the work within reach of the hand to avoid overexertion.
- Knees and elbows should be comfortable forming right angles in the working positions.
- Change posture from time to time and get up every hour and a half to stretch your legs.
If the work is standing:
- Avoid a single posture and alternate the load.
If we must lift objects:
- Use knee flexion and not back flexion.
- Balance the load on both sides.
- Avoid torsion of the trunk during efforts.
- Do not lift weights above the head.