There is an exact cause for every problem that exists. The secret to making a problem disappear, big or small, is being clever enough to determine the exact cause of it. Successful managers, successful people, people that tend to be happier in life, are really good problem “diagnosticians”. Governments on the other hand tend to…well that is a topic for another time.
How does one know that their determination of the exact cause of a problem, is correct? Simple. The problem disappears. The roof stops leaking when the exact hole (cause) is fixed; a headache due to dehydration disappears after drinking water; someone’s life completely turns around and are much happier after distancing themselves from toxic relationships. This little skill of isolating the exact cause of a problem is magical. Conversely, if the precise reason is not determined, and if the problem is significant, it can have a major negative impact on one’s existence.
Let’s take the ubiquitous back injury as an example. Without sounding hyperbolic, could humankind’s oversight in determining the precise cause of most back injuries, be one of the most impactful in history?
Everyone knows someone if not themselves that has suffered from back pain and sometimes, to life-altering degrees. This “problem” has existed for centuries (I have a 2500-year-old “medical record” of a back injury that occurred in Egypt).
The FIT/Backsafe Team, if we were to be a successful injury prevention enterprise, had to discover the ultimate cause of sprain/strain injuries in the workplace and in life. Our team headed, by a brilliant ergonomist/chiropractor/researcher, discovered a potential cause that at first, seemed too simple to believe and to take seriously. But we did and created a solution for this, in plain sight yet unseen “cause”.
Backsafe®, a customized (for each client), practical workplace injury prevention training program was created based on the logic that if the training program eliminated or dramatically reduced the “cause”, sprain/strains would be dramatically prevented. When a major US airline published their results of a 63% reduction in back and neck injuries after 20,000 flight attendants received the Backsafe training, and Backsafe was named the top safety program for the Flight Attendant Industry, worldwide, we knew we made an historic discovery.
The source of “the problem” was found and the correct solution was created to prevent the problem. The same logical principle we use in everyday problem-solving worked to fix a “problem” that costs society billions of dollars annually, hundreds of millions of lost workdays, punishing workers’ comp costs, life-changing pain, and potential addiction to pain medications.
Our solution has worked in every industry we have worked with for 30 years. The hallmark of its success starts with how well (shockingly to most clients) employees themselves buy in and embrace what they are taught. Why? They know it will help them and can apply it to their work and home life immediately.
What is this obvious and previously undiscovered, cause of most back, shoulder, and other musculoskeletal injuries? Cumulative Micro Trauma (CMT)! It is everywhere you look, not just at work, and we don’t even see it. People lifting incorrectly, sitting incorrectly, pushing, and pulling incorrectly. Whether it be lifting a child, laundry, box, luggage, groceries, a sock off the floor…these “innocent” stresses wear away our backs (and shoulders, knees, etc.) over time like the tread of a tire with each mile driven.
“But Doc I just sneezed and I got this lightning bolt of pain in my low back”! Truthfully, it had very little to do with that sneeze. It had a whole lot to do with a society that spends billions of dollars on surgeries, rehab, and pain medications to treat these injuries, and zero on teaching children, workers, parents, PEOPLE, how to correctly use our amazing bodies while doing normal activities of daily life while living in gravity.
Yes, cumulative micro trauma adding up over time is the enemy. And how to TEACH employees the solution was our secret sauce that unlocked barriers that prevent employees from accepting constructive wellness, health and safety education, to accepting this information and willingly applying it to their lives on off the job.
Problem = BACK AND SHOULDER INJURIES = SOLVED!
Call us at 1-800-775-2225 or email me to find out how Backsafe can help YOUR employees. They will thank you for making that call. Everyone wins when painful injuries are prevented!!
Prevent tomorrow’s injuries today!™
Dennis Downing, CEO
Future Industrial Technologies, Inc.
dennis@backsafe.com
(800) 775-2225
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