January

2012

Featured Back School Graduate

Gary K Porter, Jr., MS, ATC, LAT, CEAS II Industrial and office workers get injured like that of any athlete. The athletic trainer's injury assessment, management, rehabilitation and prevention skill-set apply similarly to the industrial athlete as it does to any other athlete. The major differences between the two settings - sport or industrial - are that the industrial athletes are a little older and the chronic injuries seem to be a bit more insidious than that of the sporting athlete. Therefore, prevention of injury efforts require greater investigative skills on how injuries occur in the industrial setting. These differences warrant further education. The Back School of Atlanta is a great place to attain your further knowledge and expertise in the area of injury prevention in the industrial population. I began working in my unique position as the City of Gainesville's Athletic Trainer for 2,100 employees, 10 years ago. Workers' job titles vary from police officer, to fire-fighter, utility worker, bus driver, administrator, attorney, recreation & parks professional, etc. My job title changed to 'Injury Care and Prevention Specialist' because of the difficulty in teaching the employees, spouses and retirees of what an athletic trainer does - which, I tirelessly did for 9 years. Even some general practitioners and other rehab oriented professionals are unfamiliar with an athletic trainers' skill set. Getting the word out was just one challenge. The biggest challenge, in my first year, was to reduce back injuries for our fire-fighters. Which, we have successfully reduced by 200-300% within 3-5 years. We took a multi-faceted approach of teaching lifting techniques, trunk exercises, annual trunk strength & flexibility assessment and providing safety cards (a positive reinforcement system where workers can receive gift cards for demonstrating safe behaviors). Lifting incorrectly was identified to be the number one reason for their back injuries, therefore many workshops were done on the topic. Lifting correctly was already in my skill set, but I needed more knowledge to identify and prevent other injuries for the many other workers (ie. bus drivers, public works, police officers, etc.). The Back School of Atlanta (BSOA) seemed to have the right courses to expand my expertise. Chronic, idiopathic, insidious, repetitive injuries in the industrial setting require good investigation skills in order to prevent. In my first BSOA class, I learned from Mr. Ron Porter (no relation) 5 simple ways to identify possible causes of injury - the 5 known ergonomic risk factors. Once you know the 5 ergonomic risk factors there are always ways to identify and reduce, if not eliminate, each risk factor. After being excited by my learning, I applied my knowledge. Our successes at the City of Gainesville continued. Other successes included saving hundreds of thousands in workers' compensation costs and healthcare costs with a healthy return on investment. We are self-insured, so we have interest in caring for and reducing off-the-job injuries as well. Our successes take a team to achieve. We have a nurse practitioner, two nurses, athletic trainer/injury care & prevention specialist, safety specialist, workers' comp loss manager, wellness/nutritionist personnel whom all have a desire for success. The skill sets attained through the various classes I have taken at BSOA are invaluable to the team. Ergonomic assessment skills make my treatments much more effective. Our industrial athletes heal much more quickly after identifying repetitive disorders and reducing any ergonomic risk factors. In addition, BSOA helped provide me the knowledge to provide ergonomic services on an independent contract basis outside of my regular employment. My personal listing at BSOA netted me a side contract with a major business. Even though I have done well, the learning should never end. I plan to take more BSOA classes in the near future. If you would like to know more, then I welcome you to my personal website, www.ErgoFit101.com. I keep the Facebook page to the website updated. Please, check it out and join the discussion on ergonomics, fitness, and education.

The Back School's Staff Pick

Increase Comfort Footrests With the Articulating Footrest increase comfort and decrease fatigue by redistributing body weight for healthier positioning of the spine and legs. There are a lot of people whose feet can't touch the floor which puts a lot of stress on your legs and back. This simple footrest will support your legs. The angle changes easily to accomodate the different shoes you wear from day to day. Get all the details.

In This Issue

Featured Back School Grad

Staff Product Pick

Tips for Good Eye Health

From the Blog

New online class coming soon

Quick Links

Back School's Blog Full course listing Recommended Products

Tips for Maintaining

Good Eyesight

Check out this article for some of the basics of "Eye Yoga," which reportedly can maintain and even improve your eyesight! Read the full article here.

From The Back School

Blog

Too Many PDA's, Too Little Time

"I am a CEAS level I OTR, working for a large hospital system that has been tasked to complete physical demands assessments on 20 positions for a plant locally in VA. I have been allotted three days for this project... "What advice can you give to help me in making this a successful first attempt?" "What type of format to use for this type of report?" Click here to read and comment on the answers to these questions and more.

Coming Soon to The

Back School CEAS II: Aging Workforce Ergonomics Solutions Certification Online Class

Be it travel or learning style, The Back School understands if a live workshop isn't the best choice for you. Soon to be joining our growing distance learning curriculum is our CEAS II: Aging Workforce Ergonomics Solutions class. We will be sure to let you know when the class becomes available. While we work with developers to perfect the class, check out our current online course listings! Click here to see all of our online class offerings.

Keep in Touch!

Let us know what you are up to. We would love to feature you or your business in our February newsletter!

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