Fighting Back Pain With The Dse Risk Assessment

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Our society has gradually moved from one which generates its wealth from industry and physical activity, to one which primarily processes information. This processing for the most part takes place while seated and looking at some form of display screen. A Display Screen Equipment Risk Assessment (DSE Risk Assessment) is the process by which this commonplace work position is judged in terms of health and safety.

As western nation's economies have steadily moved to mainly service related businesses, a great deal of heavy, medium and light manufacturing has transferred to developing nations, particularly to Asia. The need for DSE Risk Assessment has therefore come about as millions of western workers now spend 8 hours a day in office blocks, staring at computer monitors.

The human body has developed over thousands of years to be good at physical work - namely hunting, fishing, gathering and of course fighting. The vast majority of activities undertaken by early man involved standing, walking and running, with very little sitting down staring at a monitor. The Neanderthal home was a roughly hewn hole in a rock face, and office activities involved standing behind a bush in the pouring rain, waiting for a furry animal to wander past - with a view to skewering said beast for dinner. DSE Risk Assessments were not required for this activity.

The DSE Risk Assessment equivalent of 10,000 years ago would probably have recommended standing further away from Mammouths when trying to spear them and abstaining from eating next door neighbours.

Today a DSE Risk Assessment is a serious affair, and helps to ascertain how well suited display screen equipment is to a given workers daily practices. If we're going to spend at least 8 hours a day sitting down, it is important to see how being in this position affects the back. With a dramatic increase in back complaints in recent times, assessing this risk has become very important. Not only do employers have a moral obligation to ensure the work environment does not cause any long term damage to its employees, but they are required by law to do so.

Sitting posture is also connected to stress. The more stressful an occupation, the more likely a worker is to sit with poor posture, so along with the actual physical elements of sitting down in front of a computer, the psychosocial effects of a high pressure working environment can lead to neck and back related pain.

By educating staff and employers on how to minimise any effect on the back, particularly with the DSE Risk assessment, it should be possible to prevent many lost man hours in the future, as well as reduce the financial burden on the National Health Service. A great deal of tax payers money is lost to back related complaints - many of which are simply caused by sitting in an inappropriate position.

About the Author:
Anna Stenning is an expert on DSE Risk Assessment and many aspects of back and neck pain.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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