Mind Your Back
Coping with low back pain
Common injuries
The most common site of
injury in the spine is the
lower back between L4/5 and
L5/S1. Due to the rigidity of
the pelvis and the sacrum
this is the point of the
spine that takes the most
strain during bending,
twisting and lifting
actions. Common types of
injuries associated with
manual handling activities
include:
Muscle Strain - Muscles can be strained by sudden or unexpected overloading which may result in tears to all or some of the muscle fibres or its tendons.
Ligament Sprain - Ligaments can be sprained by overloading or prolonged loading. Scar tissue may occur resulting in joint tightness and loss of flexibility.
Muscle Strain - Muscles can be strained by sudden or unexpected overloading which may result in tears to all or some of the muscle fibres or its tendons.
Ligament Sprain - Ligaments can be sprained by overloading or prolonged loading. Scar tissue may occur resulting in joint tightness and loss of flexibility.
Disc Prolapse - Disc prolapse
or rupturing of the outer
disc structure, allowing some
of the contents to escape and
protrude, may occur when the
muscles and the ligaments of
the spine are strained beyond
their limits causing uneven
compression of the disc.
Sciatica - Damage to discs in the lumbar region can result in nerve injury, sometimes referred to as sciatica.
Hernia - Manual handling (usually involving a sudden maximal effort) may contribute to the rupture or separation of some part of the abdominal wall, enabling protrusion of an organ through the wall from its normal position.
Sciatica - Damage to discs in the lumbar region can result in nerve injury, sometimes referred to as sciatica.
Hernia - Manual handling (usually involving a sudden maximal effort) may contribute to the rupture or separation of some part of the abdominal wall, enabling protrusion of an organ through the wall from its normal position.
