{"id":2762,"date":"2023-03-23T12:25:48","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T12:25:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sepri.pt\/noticia\/pain-and-discomfort-in-the-workplace-from-prevention-to-treatment\/"},"modified":"2023-03-23T12:25:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T12:25:48","slug":"pain-and-discomfort-in-the-workplace-from-prevention-to-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sepri.pt\/en\/noticia\/pain-and-discomfort-in-the-workplace-from-prevention-to-treatment\/","title":{"rendered":"Pain and discomfort in the workplace: from prevention to treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Pain and discomfort in the workplace have a negative influence on the worker&#8217;s life, where, at a later stage, the pain can develop into an Occupational Illness.<br \/>\nIt is important for companies to adopt preventive measures for the health of their employees. <\/p>\n<p>Learn how to prevent, treat and manage pain and discomfort in the workplace.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AWARENESS-RAISING MATERIALS<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OxE-dVrQlfk\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OxE-dVrQlfk\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">VIDEO WITH OUR EXPERTS<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sNblyC7TnEw\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sNblyC7TnEw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ANIMATED EXPLAINER VIDEO<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>LMERT and pain in the workplace<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The main cause of pain and discomfort in the workplace is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sepri.pt\/pt\/noticia\/les%C3%B5es-relacionadas-com-trabalho\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>This type of injury accounts for more than 85% of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sepri.pt\/pt\/noticia\/doen%C3%A7as-profissionais\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">occupational illnesses<\/a>, according to ACT and Social Security data, and has been overlapping in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>These injuries can appear in various sectors of activity, although they may be more prevalent in certain jobs, namely:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Construction<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Industry (all types of industry)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Economic areas related to commerce, such as shopkeepers, for example.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The consequences of LMERT go far beyond discomfort and pain in the workplace.<br \/>\nFor companies, it can mean <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Days lost from work;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Breaks in productivity;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Increased costs for companies.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Injuries that can arise from pain in the workplace<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Overuse injuries:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Tendinopathies<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Muscle\/tendon ruptures<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Traumatic injuries:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Fractures<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Bruises<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Sprains<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>Preventing this type of injury involves improving working conditions, particularly in terms of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sepri.pt\/pt\/noticia\/seguran%C3%A7a-sa%C3%BAde-trabalho-braga-o-que-a-sua-empresa-deve-garantir\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">safety<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sepri.pt\/pt\/noticia\/postura-correta-no-escritorio-dicas-de-ergonomia\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">ergonomics<\/a>, but it also involves raising workers&#8217; awareness of this issue, with a strong focus on and reinforcement of health literacy.<br \/>\nOccupational Medicine and Occupational Health as a whole play a fundamental role in this regard. <\/p>\n<h2><strong>Preventive measures<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>For the sake of their health, workers must<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Constantly vary your posture in the workplace:<\/strong> it&#8217;s important to move around and, to do this, workers should take breaks during the day, get out of the routine of their workstation.<br \/>\nSome tips include getting up from your chair, stretching and taking a break outside. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Exercise in the workplace: <\/strong>when workers spend a lot of time doing their jobs, they tend to have worse posture throughout the day.<br \/>\nExercising at work allows the body to relax and corrects the employee&#8217;s posture, which will prevent the onset of pain at work. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The company also has an active role to play in preventing pain and discomfort in the workplace:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Ensuring ideal working conditions: <\/strong>adequate light and temperatures, ensuring that workers are not working in noisy areas, etc.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Ensuring the adaptability of the workplace:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Office work: <\/strong>&nbsp;stand up desks, adjustable chairs and screens, ergonomic mice and mouse mats, among others.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Work in industry:<\/strong> lifting platforms, promoting bilaterality or movements performed unilaterally, but varying the side performing the movement, for example.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Treatment phases<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Initially<\/strong>, treatment involves reducing the symptoms, i.e. reducing the patient&#8217;s pain.<br \/>\nAfter reducing the pain, we proceed to train the structure or tissue, making it more robust and resilient for its day-to-day function.<br \/>\nIt is important to remember that tissue training must be done progressively and gradually, in order to always respect its biological healing time).  <\/p>\n<p><strong>At a more advanced stage of<\/strong> the pain, alongside treatment, the worker can also adopt some strategies both at work and at home to try to manage the pain or the musculoskeletal condition they are in.<\/p>\n<p>These strategies include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Good sleep hygiene;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Managing stress on a daily basis (focusing on skills rather than weaknesses);<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Mobility techniques for the affected structure;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Muscle activation techniques.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Pain in the workplace has a very negative impact on workers.<br \/>\nIt is the responsibility of every company to ensure the health of its workers.<br \/>\nDon&#8217;t make it easy, <a href=\"mailto:comunicacao@sepri.pt\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">contact us<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p>Watch the video on Pain in the Workplace with our Occupational Physician, Exercise Physiologist and Physiotherapist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OxE-dVrQlfk\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Read also: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sepri.pt\/pt\/noticia\/postura-for%C3%A7ada-em-p%C3%A9-por-per%C3%ADodos-prolongados\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Forced standing for long periods: what it is, what the effects are and how to prevent it<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pain in the workplace has a very negative impact on workers.<br \/>\nIt is the responsibility of every company to ensure the health of its workers.<br \/>\nDon&#8217;t make it easy.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2982,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sepri.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sepri.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sepri.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sepri.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sepri.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sepri.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sepri.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sepri.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sepri.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sepri.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}