HSE tackles back pain with supermarket workout

E107:06 9 October 2006

The Health and Safety Executive has today [Monday 9 October] launched a major initiative promoting the health benefits of an active lifestyle for back pain sufferers.

Tesco, the UK's leading private sector employer, is one of a huge number of organisations that is backing the HSE's Better Backs campaign. HSE and Tesco are taking the stay active message to the aisles, as they invite qualified exercise professionals to lead specially designed back-friendly exercise classes in stores across the UK.

A 'better backs' routine has been devised by Liz Prosser, a back health expert from the charity BackCare, and the in-store sessions will show staff and customers how everyday activities, including shopping, can help them manage backache.

Geoffrey Podger, Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Executive comments, "Surprisingly back pain will affect as many as four out of five people in Britain, and results in 4.5 million days off work a year. Employers are losing up to £335 million a year, but the biggest losers are the millions of us who will have our lives blighted by the condition. Staying active is now accepted as being the best way to manage the problem in all but a few cases, whether that is achieved by the likes of cycling and swimming, or the kind of everyday exercises being demonstrated here today."

According to the latest figures, one in every six working days lost due to ill-health is due to back pain, and eighty percent of Britons will suffer from it at some point in their lives. The HSE will highlight to employers how important it is for them to work with staff to help them return to work as part of a successful recovery programme.

Derek Hopkins of Tesco comments, "We are pleased to join HSE's Better Backs campaign to tackle this common health problem. We always take an active interest in the health of our staff, but the sheer scale of the back pain problem in the UK means we felt it would be a good opportunity to send the message to our customers as well. From the point of view of an employer, there are many surprisingly simple ways you can help staff return to work with back pain, helping them manage their condition, and helping us maintain consistent levels of customer service and quality."

Says Liz Prosser, trustee of the charity BackCare, and co-author of The People's Guide To Active BackCare, "HSE's Better Backs campaign recognises that back pain has to be dealt with in a holistic way, both inside and outside the workplace. In the vast majority of cases, staying active when you have back pain will help you recover, get you back to work more quickly and make it less likely that you'll suffer from back pain in the future."

To find out more about how to tackle back pain or when to visit the GP, go to betterbacks.hse.gov.uk

Notes to editors

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in partnership with Local Authorities will run a national campaign to tackle back pain in the workplace. The campaign will focus on the holistic approach needed to manage back pain.

Running from October, Better Backs will include workplace inspections, mass media advertising and events. The campaign will aim to reduce the incidence of back pain caused or made worse by work, its impact and the number of working days lost due to back pain.

Most of us have back pain at some time. Usually the pain is not due to anything serious. If treated correctly it can disappear within a matter of days or weeks. Those who experience severe pain, those worried about their back pain or those for whom the pain persists or suddenly gets worse, should see a doctor. When the back is painful, activity may be limited for a short time but that does not necessarily mean that continuing to stay active, or at work, will do any harm.

In the past, the accepted response to back pain was bed rest. Evidence now shows that rest does not help recovery. Trying to reduce the pain by avoiding activity can lead to a much longer recovery time and possibly long-term back pain. It is much better to keep to normal levels of day-to-day activity

Tesco is one of the UK's largest employers, and a major stakeholder of the HSE. It launched the Better Backs campaign to all of its 260,000 employees, and is working with the HSE to launch Better Backs to the wider public, holding exercise workouts at stores across the UK.

Region	Tesco Stores
London	Southwark, 107 Dunton Road, LONDON, SE1 SHG
West Midlands	Coventry Cannon Park, Lynchgate Road, COVENTRY, CV4 7EH
Scotland	Corstorphine Extra, EDINBURGH, EH12 7UQ
North West	Warwick Road, CARLISLE, Cumbria, CA3 8AJ
East Midlands	Loughborough Park Road, LEICESTERSHIRE, LE11 2EX
Yorkshire & Humberside	Buttershaw, Halifax Road, BRADFORD, W. Yorks, BD6 2DW
South West	Bristol Eastville Extra, Eastgate Road, AVON, BS5 6XU
South East	Farleigh Hill, Tovil. MAIDSTONE, ME15 6RQ
North east	Stockton Extra, Durham Road, CLEVELAND, TS21 3LU
East	Cheddars Lane, Newmarket Road, CAMBRIDGE, CB5 8HE

Top 5 back pain statistics

1. Back pain will affect 80% of us at some point in our lives.
2. One in six working days lost in the UK is due to back pain.
3. In 2004/05 an estimated 452 000 people in Great Britain suffered, in their opinion, from a musculoskeletal disorder mainly affecting the back that was caused or made worse by their current or past work.
4. It is estimated that 4.5 million working days (full-day equivalent) were lost in the previous 12 months due to work-related musculoskeletal disorders which mainly affected the back. Each person suffering from such a condition took an estimated 17.4 days off work on average in this period.
5. The charity BackCare estimates that back pain costs the NHS, business and the economy over £5 billion a year.

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