The Most Common Aches and Pains Experienced By Labourers

 

Back pain can involve many areas and muscles throughout the back and there are far too many to go into specifics over here. Generally speaking, back pain occurs when the tissue supporting the spine is damaged. The most common form of back pain, and the one Matt suffered from himself, is lower back pain. 

 

Lower back pain is often instigated, and made worse, by heavy lifting, and in the trade industry that is a common occurrence to say the least. One minute Matt could be barrowing cement up a plank, the next he could be lifting up heavy blocks from the floor, and the next he could be digging out a trench. The constant change in types of heavy lifting was something Matt noticed that caused him the main problems in regard to back pain. 

 

It wasn’t so much the fact of lifting something heavy that caused his lower back pain - but rather the fact than whatever tasks he had to do after that was a completely different angle and height and therefore used different back muscles. One thing Matt can almost guarantee about all of this is that you won’t be able to do all the heavy lifting with perfect form, due to how the dynamic of the tasks and how quickly you have to change between them. Even something as simple as wearing a tool belt around your waist all day can cause pain! 

 

Preventing back pain follows a similar pattern to most injury prevention. Practise correct lifting techniques for heavy objects and try not to perform them in improper ways, such as twisting your back instead of fully turning the body the way you want to lift. Another important way of minimising injury and pain is to perform a stretching and strengthening program at least a couple of times a week; yoga and Pilates are excellent for this. You can also use a heat or cold pad to bring effective but short-term relief. 

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition that affects the wrist when the median nerve is compressed due to swelling. This causes a sensation of tingling, numbness and pain in your hands. Other symptoms can include aches or pains in the fingers hand or thumb, a numb hand and a weak thumb, or difficulty in gripping. As a labourer, it’s important that Matt addressed this issue as it’s something he experienced because an inability to feel and grip tools could be very dangerous and lead to accidents. 

 

Unfortunately, because of the circumstances and nature of labouring work, vibrating work tools are essential and can’t be avoided, meaning Matt was more susceptible to the condition. 

 

However, there are a number of things he did to prevent this issue: 

 

 

And above all, Matt made an effort to perform a stretching and strengthening routine for the wrists daily. 

 

If you’re already suffering with the condition then it may be a good idea to wear a wrist splint, particularly at night, to help relieve the pressure on the nerve. It could be up to 4 weeks before any benefit is felt from this, but it is pivotal to avoid further damage. Also, try to avoid or minimise the activities that cause the condition in the first place. 

Known less commonly as prepatellar bursitis, Carpet Layer’s/Housemaid’s Knee is a little more out of the box in regard to typical injuries and pains - but certainly still a very painful condition. 

 

This condition is a swelling of the prepatellar bursa, which can be incredibly painful and tender, especially to the touch, which is very irritating as a labourer. This can be caused by a trauma to the knee such as a fall or a build-up of pressure over time from repeated trauma such as kneeling down. This is due to the walls of the bursae being very thin. 

 

Fortunately, it doesn’t tend to affect the range of motion in most cases, but it does make the knee incredibly painful and tender to the touch. Although it may be slightly uncomfortable on full flexion of the knee. It is caused when the bursa, a small pouch filled with synovial fluid, becomes inflamed and irritated. 

 

The best way to avoid this is by preventing it in the first place. Often people will now wear knee pads in order to stop the constant impact of knee to floor. If you are unlucky enough to be suffering from this condition already then fortunately it’s easily treatable in much the same way as most injuries. Rest, application of ice to take down the swelling, and anti-inflammatory medication is usually enough to solve this issue in most cases. More severe cases may require the area to be drained via needle. 

 

So, there’s just a small insight into some everyday aches and pains suffered as a labourer from Matt's perspective! 

 

If you suffer from any of these or any other conditions due to work then get in touch with one of our therapists. They’ll be able to offer you more in-depth insight into why you’re struggling and offer you appropriate avenues for relieving your conditions. 

 

Don’t forget that you can order gift vouchers to treat someone in your life to a relaxing massage to ease their aches and pains. To arrange these just get in touch.