Welders, carpenters, artisans in general, anyone who makes physical efforts and comes into contact with potential dangers at work, to be able to prevent them, needs to take care and pay attention to certain precautions.
To stay better in 2022, it starts from handling loads. To help you support any kind of cargo, we have collected the explanations and the advice of Francesco Rosso, a professional chinesiologist, a graduate in Motor Sciences and active with the work of him in the province of Udine.
Together with Francesco we want to give information and value to all those who, like you, face a job every day that involves risks. We see its valuable suggestions on manual handling and loads of the spine, then how to raise the weights and unload the spine after an intense working day.
What is chinesiology and what does the chinesetiologist?
The chinesiologist graduated in Motor Sciences and Movement Expert. He is not a physiotherapist, with whom, however, he collaborates. The physiotherapist follows the people in a first phase of management of the problem while the chinesiologist takes over in muscle recovery and functionality.
He is a very important profession for maintaining and improving motility, very useful and to achieve the maximum condition of well-being.
Vertebral Column: Anatomy and Curves
Let's start with a small part of anatomy, to understand how we are made. The spine, as the name says, is a vertebrae column, divided into:
- 7 cervicals
- 12 dorsal
- 5 Lumbar.
If we look at the back, the spine appears perfectly straight. But if we move and look at a person next to it, we note that there are curves: three furniture and a fixed.
The first mobile curve is the cervical one, at the height of the neck. Just below we have the dorsal cyhosis followed by lumbar lordosis. Finally the last foster at the sacred bone that, however, is a fixed bone.
How is a vertebra?
Let's look closely at the vertebrae, or the bones that make up the spine. The vertebrae have a hole inside, arranged one above the other to form a channel where the spinal cord passes. In the side area they have buffets from which nerve beams come out that go to innervate muscles and organs.
Among a vertebra and the other there are discs, the famous intervertebral discs, formed by cartilage fibers and for 80% of water. They are structured with a central part that is called pulpous core, an jelly that amortizes the movements, and a fiber ring, called a fibrous ring, which surrounds and contains the nucleus.
Wear-related problems of vertebrae
With the passage of time, the movements act in a manner User for our body and the cartilage ring begins to become less strong.
The fibers begin to break and the gelatinous core makes its way through the fibers. At this point, the nucleus can continue to move up to the edge of the vertebra generating a disc protrusion.
In more serious cases, when the ring no longer succeeds in retaining the gelatinous nucleus, this completely comes out and you have a disk hernia.
In contrast to what would be to think, therefore, in the case of hernia, the intervertebral discs are firmly anchored to the vertebra. What happens is that the nucleus, leaking, goes to press on spinal cord and nerve beams. A classic example is what happens with a sciatic nerve.
How manual work influences the health of the back?
When you deal with heavy work and efforts for weight handling, you can have a great repercussion on your back.
A typical scenario can be just that of the disk hernia we have just talked about.
It should be clear now that having a hernia does not mean being disabled. Most of hernias are asymptomatic and may not even know they have it.
In contrast, however, there are people who suffer from it. It is the classical situation that can be generated dall'ernia acting on the sciatic nerve level due to the manual handling of loads and lifting weights. This means having pain in his lower back that radiates into the buttock or back of the thigh and calf, just below the foot.
Another example is the cervical disc, in this case the pain will be in the arm and fingers, with numbness and tingling. In severe cases symptoms can be up to dizziness, dizziness and nausea.
In the manual handling of loads, therefore, necessary to pay extreme attention to the back.
What happens in the back in case of handling weights?
Our back is able to withstand up to 800 kg of pressure before breaking down.
As a result, the law 81 of 2008 suggests that a person can lift a maximum of 25 kg before you get hurt.
Although it is not a real fixed limit, because the recommendation is not to exceed 25 kg when lifting weights?
Suppose a person's weight is 80 kg. This means that on its intervertebral disc at L3 level, lumbar height, where convey the forces, there are 80 kg of pressure, which is the force of gravity that pulls it low. On the same point also it acts which pushes the floor upwards with opposite action.
If this person sits well, with your back straight. The pounds of pressure become 112, because there is an increase in pressure. Even so it is easy to see that our back is better to stand up, to have less load.
If we add poor posture, you will lose the support of the muscles, the pelvis is in feedback and pressure on the disk reaches 148 kg.
In other words: for a person of 80 kg sit on the couch playing playstation means to perceive the back weighs about a hundred pounds.
We now have to lift a weight of 10 kg. These ten pounds do not add up to 80 kg of weight. The pressure on the discs arrives to 340 Kg. And so on: for the lifting of 20 Kg, the pressure of 680 Kg; for the 25 Kg we are dangerously close to 800 kg have been mentioned previously.
That's why we speak of a maximum weight of 25 Kg.
It should be noted, moreover, that this maximum value is to be referred to a proper lifting: bending the knees and keeping the three natural curves of the back.
As the curves of the back help lift?
We have already mentioned three curves of the spine: cervical lordosis, kyphosis and lumbar lordosis. Stand with your back straight means keeping these three curves.
There is a mathematical equation that confirms this statement. We call R the resistance of the column, given by the number of curves at most one square.
R = (3x3) + 1 = 10
Three curves imply a maximum resistance of the back equal to ten.
When one of these curves is lost due to poor posture at work, in daily life or, in general, prolonged, what happens?
For example: a welder who does business with a no good posture, you could lose the cervical curve and kyphosis have a single running from the base of the neck to the beginning of the lumbar area.
There remain two curves: kyphosis of the upper back and lumbar lordosis. The resistance is given by the square of the two plus one curve, R = (2x2) + 1 = 5
Losing one resistance curve passes from ten to five, namely, it is halved. Losing two curves, the resistance is lowered still more R = (1x1) + 1 = 2.
A correct posture during lifting loads allows: maximum efficiency, maximum efficiency and maximum protection of the back.
How to prevent the onset of back problems?
In addition to good practices to maintain during work, to support the back can be useful:
- Take time, even ten, fifteen minutes, to download the spine at the end of the day
- Rehydrate the intervertebral discs that are made for 80% of water
- Do specific exercises, depending on age and any problems, which help to hydrate and rebalance the position of the vertebrae.
Among the different exercises, relaxing is as simple as beneficial for the back. In this way, in fact, the load that will grave on the column will be half the weight perceived standing.
This is how the back manages to discharge and lengthen. Even better if the legs are raised. And it is also the reason why we measure the height in the morning, they detect one, two centimeters more than in the evening, after the hours standing or at work.
Also, always lying down, the discs are compressed and can absorb a greater amount of water.
Another advice is to work on joint mobility. It may be sufficient even less than an hour of gymnastics every day to be better physically, improve the quality of life and live longer.
Dedicated to the mobility of hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, ankles, knees, too and all the joints.
Finally, this is a cuddle, sometimes it is good to enjoy a nice relaxing massage to dissolve the contractures. In general, even a nice hot bath helps in this sense because the heat of the water allows the blood to flow better. ATTENTION only to any pressure drops.
Anyone who should take care of his own back, but more so whoever urges him with handling and lifting weights every day at work.
Based on the different needs it can be useful to perform specific exercises and postural gymnastics. The postural gymnastics courses today are also online, as well as at the gym by appointment. You can find out more about Site Francesco Grosso - Chinesiology and Wellness Or on social pages Facebook And Instagram.
Want to see the video with Francesco in which you explain everything you read in greater detail? Click this link