Health monitoring

Health monitoring is an informal, voluntary method of surveying your workforce for symptoms of ill health including low back pain. The law does not require health surveillance or health monitoring for workers exposed to the risks of MSD because there is no accepted valid technique for detecting the early signs of MSD injuries .

Why conduct health monitoring?

Health monitoring can help employers to take action to prevent back pain being caused or aggravated by work activities.
It provides a means of obtaining early reports of back complaints, which can be assessed and acted upon as appropriate.

When would health monitoring be appropriate?

Health monitoring could play a part of your overall strategy to manage the risks of developing back pain aggravated by work.
You could identify high-risk groups, for example, workers who have had previous back problems and injuries or surgery.
All other workers should be encouraged to report any symptoms relating to the back that they may be experiencing as soon as possible.

Worker co-operation

Workers’ co-operation with checks of this nature, which are not required by law, are on a voluntary basis.
They should be informed of the purpose, method and process of the health monitoring system.
Education regarding early sign symptoms could help in preventing or reducing the risk significantly.

Interpreting the results

Where unexpected or raised prevalence of back pain is found, the risk assessment for the affected population of workers should be reviewed as it may suggest that the control measures in place are failing or that further control measures are required to adequately protect those workers.