Eight in ten early years practitioners suffer back pain
Katy Morton
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Eight out of ten people who work in early years settings and primary schools have experienced back and neck discomfort, according to a new study.
The survey, led by chartered Healthy Schools physiotherapist Lorna Taylor in conjunction with Voice The Union, revealed that more than 80 per cent of the 705 respondents had experienced work-related back pain and disorders such as joint and repetitive strain injuries.
Around 215 of the respondents were pre-school staff, with 86 per cent claiming they had experienced back pain on a regular basis, 69 per cent neck pain and 57 per cent discomfort in their knees.
The activities they said caused the most discomfort were bending over low tables and sitting on children's chairs.
Lifting children, picking things up off the floor, and moving furniture and equipment were also highlighted as particular problems for pre-school staff working in shared premises.
According to the research, some staff have had to give up working full-time, moved to placements with older children or been forced to take early retirement because of ill-health.
Despite this, only eight per cent of respondents said they officially recorded their neck and back discomfort at work, while 11 per cent had not mentioned it all. A third of those surveyed said they feared that reporting such problems would jeopardise their career; others said discomfort was accepted as part of the job, or did not know how to report it.
Some practitioners said they felt that neck and back discomfort was not taken seriously and they were made to feel that all available funds should be spent on children rather than staff.
Philip Parkin, Voice's general secretary, said, 'Primary and early years settings are, naturally, designed for children, but more thought needs to go into the needs of the adults who work there too.
'Employers need to be proactive, see the issues and manage them, both to protect their staff and to reduce the costs of staff being off sick through work-related injuries.
'Many respondents felt they should have access to improved information and training, in particular trainee teachers. Regular training and manual handling policies can also help to reduce staff injury.'
- For a copy of the survey visit www.voicetheunion.org.uk/backs
