A manual handling operation may be defined as "any transporting or supporting of a load (including lifting, putting down, pushing pulling, carrying or moving thereof) by hand or bodily force."
Nearly a third of all injuries that are reported each year are a result of incorrect manual handling. The cost of these injuries is estimated at approximately £100million each year. This can be a result of poor supervision, lack of training or information, poor instructions or a combination of these things.
Discs, Ligaments, and muscles are commonly injured in a cumulative nature and are very rarely injured in one isolated event. Ligament or tendon damage is also common; with hernias developing after muscle wall tissue becomes too strained. If objects are dropped on the body then abrasions, cuts and fractures can occur.
Sites of injury caused by incorrect handling are:
45 percent back
16 percent finger/thumb
13 percent arm
Remainder affecting lower limbs, arms, torso.
There are a number of ways to reduce the risks associated with manual handling, as required under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992. A risk assessment should be carried out and, if possible, mechanical aids should be used to assist people with the lifting. Workers should be encouraged to undertake team lifts and be aware of their individual limitations. Employers should provide staff with the correct levels of information, instruction and training. Personal protective equipment should be provided as a last resort .
Risk assessments are required under health and safety regulations (regulation 3.1a &b of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Employers must take into account the task, load, working environment and the individual capability. See further information below for a useful guide to carrying out manual handling assessments
A Prolapsed Disc (above)
A prolapsed disc often causes severe lower back pain. The disc often presses on a nerve root which also causes pain and other symptoms in a leg. In most cases, the symptoms ease off gradually over several weeks. The usual advice is to do normal activities as much as possible. Painkillers may help. Physical treatments such as spinal manipulation may also help. Surgery may be an option if the symptoms persist.
When you have a prolapsed disc (commonly called a 'slipped disc'), a disc does not actually 'slip'. What happens is that part of the inner softer part of the disc (the nucleus pulposus) bulges out (herniates) through a weakness in the outer part of the disc. A prolapsed disc is sometimes called a herniated disc. The bulging disc may press on nearby structures such as a nerve coming from the spinal cord. Some inflammation also develops around the prolapsed part of the disc.
Any disc in the spine can prolapse. However, most prolapsed discs occur in the lumbar part of the spine (lower back). The size of the prolapse can vary. As a rule, the larger the prolapse, the more severe the symptoms are likely to be.
