Keeping your body working

When your job is physical, the strain adds up over time, and if you rely on bad habits or the work isn’t set up or managed properly, problems tend to follow.

You’re on your feet, lifting, reaching, and working in awkward positions, often for longer than you should be, and most days you just get on with it. Over time, that starts to show; a back that never quite settles, knees that ache after a long day, shoulders that don’t feel right but you’ve learned to get used to.

For many, it becomes part of the routine. HSE figures show that a significant proportion of people with work-related musculoskeletal disorders deal with symptoms that are long-term or recurring. That’s usually a sign something hasn’t been addressed properly, whether that’s the injury itself or the way the work is being done. You only get one body, and while it’s an employer’s responsibility to make sure tasks are properly risk assessed, it’s your responsibility to look after yourself. If your body gives out, you may be unable to work, so it’s important to take it seriously.

Looking after your body means paying attention when something’s not right and doing something about it before it turns into a bigger problem.

Spot when something needs dealing with

There’s a difference between feeling tired after a long day and dealing with something that keeps coming back. If you’re noticing the same pain week after week, or something that’s getting worse instead of easing off, that’s usually a sign it needs dealing with; the same goes for poor sleep, constant fatigue, or injuries that never quite heal.

A lot of people carry on because stopping isn’t straightforward; work still needs doing and money still needs to be made, but pushing through something that isn’t improving often leads to more time off later, not less.

What actually helps day to day

You don’t need to overhaul everything to stay on top of things; small, consistent changes are what tend to make the difference.

• Deal with issues early: If something doesn’t feel right, get it looked at. If a task you carry out regularly is causing pain, don’t wait for it to change. Assess the task properly and make sure a safe, workable procedure is in place. Waiting rarely improves it, and it is easier to deal with early than after months of strain.
• Give your body time to recover: Finishing work doesn’t always mean switching off, but your body still needs time to settle, and even short periods of proper rest help over time.
• Keep moving outside of work: Physical jobs don’t always mean balanced movement, so a short walk, some light stretching, a massage or anything that helps your body loosen up and recover can help reduce the strain that builds up over time.
• Eat and hydrate properly: Skipping meals or relying on whatever’s easiest catches up with you; energy levels drop, recovery slows down, and you feel it by the end of the day.

Manual handling and how the job is set up

If you are carrying out manual handling tasks repeatedly, or working in positions that put your body under strain, this should be assessed properly with a risk assessment and not ignored.

Lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, working overhead, or staying in a bent or twisted position for long periods all increase the risk of injury if they are not properly managed.

These activities should be risk assessed, and where a risk is identified, it should be reduced so far as is reasonably practicable, whether that means changing the way the task is done, using mechanical aids, adjusting the working position, or breaking the task up to reduce prolonged strain.

If the same movement or position is causing discomfort or fatigue day after day, that is a sign the task or setup needs to change, not something to work through.

Poor manual handling over time is one of the most common causes of long-term issues. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reports around 470,000 cases of work-related musculoskeletal disorders each year in Great Britain, with manual handling, repetitive work, and awkward postures among the main causes.

Employers are responsible for carrying out risk assessments and putting safe systems of work in place, but everyone on site has a role in following them and speaking up when something is not right. Read more from the HSE about Manual Handling at Work here.

Know when to stop

Working through pain or illness might feel like the only option at the time, especially if you’re self-employed or responsible for others, but there is a point where carrying on does more harm than good.

Going back too early after an injury, or never properly recovering in the first place, is one of the main reasons small issues turn into long-term problems.

If something is stopping you working properly, or you’re having to work around it constantly, it’s worth taking seriously now rather than later.

When things don’t go to plan

Sometimes it is not just a strain or a bad back that settles down with time; illness, serious injury, or unexpected health issues can stop you working altogether and affect everything around you.

That is where the pressure really hits; income, routine, and the knock-on effect on family life.

The Electrical Industries Charity is there to support people working in the industry when this happens, whether that is financial help, practical support, or someone to talk things through when it all starts to build up.

Deal with it early

Most people wait until they are forced to stop; by that point options are limited and recovery takes longer.

If something is not right, deal with it early; it is easier to manage, easier to recover from, and far less likely to take you out of work completely.

Your body is what keeps you working, and looking after it is part of the job.