Theoretically, tradies should be some of the healthiest, fittest workers in Australia. After all, a lot of their work is done outside, it’s physically demanding and involves considerable strength. Why is it then that so many tradies suffer from physical problems, some of them so bad that they can drive people into early retirement? There are many reasons for this, but the majority of them are actually avoidable with a little thought, planning, and good practice. Let’s take a look at some of the common problems suffered by tradies and what you can do to avoid or mitigate them.
One of the key problems suffered by tradies is musculature strain and stress. Pulled muscles, torn tendons and ligaments, and general muscle soreness are frequently regarded as par for the course, but they needn’t be. Develop a simple routine of stretching exercises every morning before you set off for work. Just five minutes out of your day is enough to make sure that your muscles are loose and ready to get working. You should also incorporate a “warm down” session at the end of the working day to stretch out those muscles that will have tightened up considerably over the course of the day. This will make you feel more relaxed and help you to sleep better at night. If you’re lucky enough to have a pool in your backyard, or live near the ocean, you can’t beat a dip at the end of the day to wash away both mental and physical stress.
Many of the injuries and aches and pains suffered by tradies can be attributed to poor posture. Spending most of the day on their feet, tradies are subjecting their spine, hips, neck and joints to a lot of strain. That’s fine, because your joints are amazing and built to stand a huge amount of stress, but if you put them in the wrong position they are going to suffer. Focus on keeping your spine straight and not slouching or getting yourself in hunched positions. When you’ve got an awkward job to do, just take a moment to think about how it’s going to affect your posture. Would you be better off lying down on the floor to fix that awkward socket rather than bending over to it? Can you maybe remove that plumbing part, fix it and put it back rather than trying to fix it in situ in a position that is putting strain on your body? Things like this might add a few minutes to a task, but overall you will be more productive because you won’t ache so much.
Most trades involve a lot of heavy lifting, and yet many tradies, as can be seen on any construction site, don’t follow sensible protocols when lifting heavy objects. Even light objects can damage your spine, muscles, tendons or ligaments if you don’t use proper technique. Before you lift anything, do a quick mental risk assessment. Is the object light enough for you to lift? Could you make it lighter, e.g. can it be broken down into two smaller lifts? Should you ask somebody else to help you lift (don’t be a hero about it, if you need help, ask!)? Is there a forklift or a wheelbarrow you can use to help? When you do lift, always use the same technique: set your feet so that you are stable, bend from the knees, and lift with your knees and hips providing the power, keeping your back out of it. Keep whatever you’re lifting as close to your body as you can for the best leverage and least strain. Many tradies have found that a back support like a weightlifter’s belt is a great help in preventing their backs from being injured by lifting.
You might think that with so much physical work being involved in being a tradie, you don’t need any other exercise, but you would be wrong. The repetitive nature of trade work means that you will get a lot of exercise for some muscle groups but some will be neglected; you need to get some exercise to ensure a healthy balance of all parts of your body, and it’s also good for your mental health. As mentioned above, a swim before or after work is an ideal way of warming up and cooling down both mentally and physically. Perhaps consider leaving your tools at work and walking or cycling there if it’s not too far away, another great way of loosening up your body and mind.
Finally, don’t be a hero about pain. Many people, especially men, see it as a badge of honour to be “hard” and keep on working when they are injured – even if you don’t have that mindset, it can often be tempting to carry on working through pain when as a sole trader you will lose money through days off. However, in the long run, you’ll just do more damage to your body and ultimately have to take more time off, or in the worst case scenario even give up the job you love, if you don’t get prompt treatment for injuries and pains. You wouldn’t think your doctor was weak for asking you to come and have a look at a problem with their house, would you? Well they won’t think you’re weak for asking them to look at a problem with your body, it’s what they’re there for.
So, we’ve seen the benefits of looking after yourself, but as a trade, you’ve also got to think about the benefits of looking after others if something goes wrong. If somebody is injured on your work site because of an accident or maybe an error on your part, you could find yourself paying huge sums for their medical care and compensation for work time missed. That’s why it’s essential that you have good liability insurance in place on every job. Protect your health with insurance for tradies package!