IT’S Tradies National Health Month in August and local physiotherapists are helping to raise awareness about the importance of tradespeople’s health and wellbeing.
According to Safe Work Australia’s Key Work Health and Safety Report 2014 one in five serious workplace injuries involves a tradie and 75 per cent said they ignored the pain.
Koombana Physiotherapy director Sean Cowan said it was a lot easier to treat an injury if he saw it early.
“It can take longer to get back to work and perform physical duties if you have an injury that has been untreated for a while,” Mr Cowan said.
“We have a big focus here on preventative exercises, such as strengthening and conditioning training.”
The physically demanding aspect of the job can cause many different injuries but the most common injury Mr Cowan sees is back and upper limb alignments.
One of Mr Cowans patients, plumber Tom Atkinson, has been in the trade for five years and comes in to see his physiotherapist predominately for back injuries.
“It is pretty taxing if you’re not careful,” Mr Atkinson said.
“I was grinding the wall with a chaser when I did my last back injury.
“I also do a lot of bending over and digging.”
Mr Cowan stressed the importance of having a good general level of health and fitness and if you did get injured to undertake the necessary rehabilitation to prevent further injury.
