Tradie Health Month

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Did you know

• 33% of males in the construction industry have high blood pressure, and
• 45% are at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease?
• 94% of tradies reported that they don’t eat enough fruit and/or vegetables
• Every day 10 tradies are badly injured at work – a total of 3,650 injuries to tradies each year
• Back injuries are the most common injury for tradies with nearly a quarter of tradesmen experiencing back pain.

The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) and Steel Blue Boots have declared August is Tradies National Health Month, focused on helping tradies improve their health by creating safer work habits, seeking effective treatments for injury, and compiling tradie-approved nutrition and exercise habits, they hope to make a real difference.

Some simple tips

• Regular exercise reduces blood pressure and cholesterol
• Ensure you have the strength, flexibility, balance and fitness needed to do your job
• Learn safe techniques for the manual aspects of the job – a physiotherapist can help
• Don’t ignore the pain, a physiotherapist can help
• Pack your lunch the night before, it doesn’t take long
• Take a couple of pieces of fruit or some canned fruit, Its quick and easy to grab, tasty and will sustain energy
• Cook meals with lots of veggies (fresh and frozen) and make more food for dinner and take leftovers for lunch the next day
• Drinks lots of water. This keeps you energised and won’t cause the sugar crash you can get from sugary drinks.