Back injuries account for nearly 20 percent of all injuries and illnesses in the workplace. They cost the nation an estimated $20 billion to $50 billion per year, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

The average cost of a low-back-associated workers’ compensation claim is nearly $8,500.

Clearly, anything you can do as an employer to reduce these risks among your employees is well worth the effort.

Risk factors for lower back pain include an inactive lifestyle, being overweight or in poor physical condition, using improper lifting techniques, lifting excessive weight, poor posture and even heavy tobacco use. Your prevention efforts need to target these issues.

The most important strategies for an employer to reduce back injuries at work are:

• Implement an ergonomics program that focuses on redesigning the work environment and work tasks to reduce the hazards of lifting and twisting. This includes providing proper mechanical assistive devices.
• Educate employees about the importance of personal physical conditioning. Then provide resources, support and encouragement to act on the information.
• Train employees about proper posture and lifting techniques.

The first strategy requires an individualized, on-site analysis by an expert.

Physical condition is crucial

A healthy, strong and fit body is less prone to injury. Encourage employees to get regular exercise three to five days per week, including strength training for the abdominal and lower back muscles.

If feasible, provide a fitness facility on premises and allow employees to use it during breaks and before and after shifts. Some employers offer extra break time to employees who use it to work out. An alternative is to subsidize fitness club memberships.

Being overweight is a major predisposing factor in back injuries. Provide access to weight loss programs. These may be available through your health insurance carrier or employee assistance program at little or no additional cost. You might sponsor Weight Watchers or a similar program on-site and perhaps subsidize the costs.

Similarly, provide access to smoking cessation programs, as tobacco use is also a predisposing factor in back injuries. These too may be available through your health insurance carrier or employee assistance program or you could sponsor on-site groups.

A word of caution: Back belts, also called back supports or abdominal belts, have become increasingly common among employees whose jobs require lifting. However, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reports that there is no scientific evidence that they do any good and does not recommend their use.

Teach proper lifting techniques

The safest way to do a job is not always obvious or intuitive. People need to be told – or, better yet, shown – the healthy way to do physical work. Following are some points this training should cover:

• Use your legs, not your back, to lift. Squat down, don’t bend over, when picking up a load.
• Keep your back straight and stomach muscles tight.
• Place your feet shoulder-width apart, with the weight of your body directly over your feet.
• Test the weight of a load before lifting it.
• Hold the load close to your body.
• Don’t twist your upper body. Move your feet to change directions, turning your body as a whole. Twisting while lifting is one of the most common ways people injure their backs.
• Balance your load. Avoid lifting and carrying loads that put the weight mainly on one side of your body.
• Finally, when in doubt, don’t lift it. Drag it, put it on wheels, ask a co-worker to help, make extra trips or use a handcart or other mechanical device.

As with all training, once is never enough. It should be provided to all new hires and repeated annually.

If all of this sounds expensive and time consuming, please re-read the beginning of this article.