2021 - The year of the "Work place stretch"
Welcome to 2021! And yes it’s February already - I hope all of us got some well-deserved downtime, recharged our batteries and reflected on a year for the history books.
Let’s kick off 2021 with a stretch
I have been fortunate to work with companies across New Zealand on their Manual Handling best practices with great success over the past 8 years.
HOWEVER
Ultimately I can teach you and your employees how to lift and move (it’s my bread and butter), but do your employees have the ability to move through the required range of motion (ROM) of daily tasks without stressing the body.
I like to refer to the body as our vehicle - so maybe something like below will resonate
“I can teach you to drive, but if your vehicle is in poor condition I can’t stop it from breaking down”
Time and time again find myself talking to businesses about the benefits of adding stretching routines into the workday. Simply put - look after your vehicle and it will serve you well.
You can revisit my previous blog post on “Warming up for work”
Let’s look at some of the benefits of incorporating weekly stretching into your before/during/after work routines
Improved posture
Greater range of motion
Increased blood flow
Reduces the occurrence of Musculoskeletal disorders (Sprains & Strains)
Reduces stress
Download the free workplace stretch poster here
Workplace (Startup/toolbox) Warm up for work
Transitions the employee physically and mentally from static to dynamic movement
Preps muscles / tendons / ligaments for activity
Establishes routine to the start of the workday
Establishes a wellbeing routine that will influence follow on wellbeing activities/initiatives
It’s not just the team on the tools!
Many companies are looking to engage injury prevention programs for staff out on the tools - However in my years of delivery it is more than apparent that the sedentary workstation does more damage to the back than any physical moving and handling tasks - We will be talking about posture and position in next months blog post.
Desk jobs, long commutes to and from worksites, non-varied positions will slowly cause adaptations to the body that ultimately will impact on the structures of the body.
That being said - a stretching program reaches EVERYONE in the business - not just those on the tools.
2020 was the year of “Wellbeing”
Well let's strip 2021 back a little further and simply make it about the year of the “stretch”
I have a number of free workplace images you can use to help promote your wellbeing messages in 2021 - get in touch here
In the next blog, we will be looking into Posture and position
Have a great stretch!
Richie Patterson - NZ Olympian 1072
Director - Manual Handling NZ