Article: Safer Steps: Musculoskeletal injuries in forestry

Simon Ash, UK Sales Manager at HAIX

In the UK between 2015/16, there were 539,000 work related musculoskeletal disorders (MSK). Foresters undertake physically demanding tasks every day and wearing comfortable, supportive footwear is one way of reducing the risk of developing MSK problems.

In this industry, a ‘false footwear’ economy currently exists. Generally speaking, individuals are tempted to purchase low cost and low quality boots in order to remain compliant and save money.  Investing in the correct safety boots could help protect your feet, increase motivation, enhance productivity and reduce the risk of injury.

What can cause MSK?

More than 20% of injuries in tree work are MSK related. You complete heavy duty tasks, including manual handling of loads with the back flexed and twisted, often in low temperatures, or on slippery and uneven surfaces. Wearing low quality footwear could hinder you completing your tasks easily and efficiently.

The wrong boots can damage joints, cause swelling of the legs and result in a range of problems for the feet, including bunions and corns, steel spurs and even flat feet.  General pain and discomfort around feet, legs, hips and lower back could also occur.

With 26 bones and numerous ligaments and muscles, our feet are the foundation of our body and need to be protected.

Prevention

Understanding the importance of supportive boots is critical to look after your health.  Invest in high quality footwear- you won’t regret it.

For more information, visit https://www.haix.co.uk

Sources:

www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/musculoskeletal/msd.pdf

webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130107105354/http:/www.dh.gov. uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/ digitalasset/dh_4138412.pdf

http://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/health/msd.htm