Approximately one\u00a0out of every\u00a0five\u00a0cases of acute lower back pain turns into recurring chronic back pain,\u00a0which makes this a more serious concern.\u00a0Chronic back pain can often and quickly diminish a person\u2019s quality of life.<\/p>\n
Back pain is prevalent in truck drivers, given their job duties and lifestyle. Numerous studies of truck drivers around the world have found that long hours behind the wheel seem linked to a higher prevalence of back pain than the average population.<\/p>\n
For a truck driver, chronic back pain can mean the inability to work and a loss of income. In fact, back pain is one of the leading causes of missed workdays in America. If a fleet has drivers suffering from back pain, it can mean fewer drivers to accommodate customers\u2019 orders, an increased risk for traffic accidents, as well as an increase in sick leave pay and health insurance costs.<\/p>\n
While\u00a0the cause\u00a0of back pain is not\u00a0clearly\u00a0identified in 90%\u00a0of patients, there are several common factors\u00a0connected to\u00a0a large portion\u00a0of them.\u00a0Addressing these factors can\u00a0significantly reduce the risk\u00a0of,\u00a0or help with the treatment of,\u00a0back pain.\u00a0The most common factors\u00a0include:<\/p>\n
- \n
- muscular-skeletal imbalances, which is a combination of tight and weak muscles<\/li>\n
- a\u00a0sedentary lifestyle<\/li>\n
- being overweight<\/li>\n
- having poor posture<\/li>\n
- lack of warm-up of muscles before performing movements with heavy loads,\u00a0repetitive\u00a0or jerking\u00a0movements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
For truck drivers,\u00a0these\u00a0factors\u00a0are\u00a0all too\u00a0common. And\u00a0while they may be\u00a0challenging to overcome, there are things fleets can do to\u00a0help\u00a0their\u00a0drivers\u00a0with\u00a0prevention\u00a0or treatment of low-back pain:<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n1.\u00a0Educate Drivers<\/h2>\n
First and foremost,\u00a0education\u00a0is key. Drivers need to know about common causes of back pain,\u00a0as well as strategies for prevention and treatment.\u00a0Whether through videos on\u00a0a\u00a0company app or website or through pamphlets at your terminals, there are various ways to educate your drivers.<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0Encourage Exercise<\/h2>\n
Fleets need to embrace a long-term vision and\u00a0encourage drivers to do light exercises and stretches each time\u00a0before\u00a0they get behind the wheel, which will also increase alertness.\u00a0\u00a0Additionally, encourage drivers to\u00a0take walks and stay active during breaks\u00a0and\u00a0after meals.\u00a0Fleets can\u00a0also\u00a0provide\u00a0exercise equipment\u00a0such as\u00a0resistance bands.<\/p>\n
3. Support\u00a0Healthier Diets<\/h2>\n
Encourage drivers to cook\u00a0healthy food\u00a0in their trucks and develop an active lifestyle to help with weight loss. Offer discounted coaching or other options.<\/p>\n
4.\u00a0Invest in Seating<\/h2>\n
Offer upgrades in driver\u2019s seats, cushions and\/or back supports to ensure proper posture, as well as absorption of constant vibrations caused\u00a0by\u00a0a truck driving on the road.<\/p>\n
Teach drivers to change positions on occasion when driving so muscles do not become too stiff in the same position.\u00a0And offering\u00a0discounted upgrades\u00a0for sleeper mattresses is critical; many of the less-expensive mattresses do not provide proper support.<\/p>\n
5.\u00a0Promote\u00a0Warm-ups<\/h2>\n
Develop a culture of drivers who do warm-up exercises to start and end their day. This will significantly reduce the risk of developing an injury\u00a0from\u00a0activities\u00a0such as\u00a0getting in and out of the truck, dropping a trailer\u00a0or\u00a0doing pre-trip\u00a0inspections.<\/p>\n
For truck drivers, long periods in\u00a0the seated position\u00a0not only\u00a0lead to\u00a0a sedentary lifestyle, but also\u00a0can cause\u00a0musculoskeletal imbalances. The most common imbalances that lead to back pain are\u00a0tightness in the hip flexor muscles,\u00a0hamstrings (back of thighs),\u00a0chest and front shoulder muscles, while developing atrophy in the glutes\u00a0and in the\u00a0back\u00a0and\u00a0neck muscles.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve posted a video to my YouTube channel with exercises you\u00a0can share with your drivers to help them reduce the risk and or reduce the symptoms from back pain:\u00a0https:\/\/youtu.be\/Lb3l-v_th-g\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"Sergio](\"https:\/\/fleetimages.bobitstudios.com\/upload\/trucking-info\/content\/article\/2021-06\/sergio-rojas-headshot-__-720x516-s.jpg\")
Sergio Rojas<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n <\/p>\n
by Sergio Rojas<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Source: https:\/\/www.automotive-fleet.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
CUT COTS OF THE FLEET WITH OUR AUDIT PROGRAM<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/nueva-ley-auditoria.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe audit is a key tool to know the overall status and provide the analysis, the assessment, the advice, the suggestions and the actions to take in order to cut costs and increase the efficiency and efficacy of the fleet. We propose the following fleet management audit.<\/p>\n
FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Photo:\u00a0gettyimage.com\/Staras For a truck driver, chronic back pain can mean the inability to work and a loss of income. In fact, back pain is one of the leading causes of missed workdays in America.\u00a0 Nearly 65 million Americans report a recent episode of back pain, and some 16 million adults \u2014 8% of all adults…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[133],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11489"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11489"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11491,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11489\/revisions\/11491"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}