Importance of Physiotherapy For Farmers
Famers love what they do, no doubt about that. They spend their days out in all weather, pulling and dragging, lifting and lugging. Whether they are calving or feeding, cleaning or fencing a lot is being asked of their bodies everyday. Add into that the lack of ‘downtime’ to heal and recover and we have a perfect storm for injuries. Longer farming hours has been linked to an increase in musculoskeletal injury, suggesting that fatigue may play a part. Human error increases with fatigue so it is important for farmers to ensure that they take breaks, are well rested and plan their working week to avoid becoming fatigued, both psychologically and physically. The number of farmers attending for physiotherapy is increasing year on year,
In Ireland there are over 165,000 people employed in the agriculture sector , its estimated that 50%of this sector experience a very significant acute and chronic musculoskeletal (bone, muscle, tendon, ligament) injury yearly .
Livestock encounters are one of the main source of injury’s for farmers especially around the first three to four months of the year because these months are the duration of calving season . These months are especially dangerous to be around cows as they can be very protective of their calves, especially first time mothers.
Operating farm machinery is known to cause musculoskeletal injury’s. These include the following:
- lower and upper back strain and pain
- neck and shoulder strain and pain
- elbow, wrist and hand strain and pain
Benefits of Early Intervention of Physiotherapy
The old adage ‘Prevention is better than a cure’ rings very true in physiotherapy. Even if an injury has already occurred, you can prevent further damage by attending physiotherapy as soon as possible. Many farmers state that they simply don’t have the time. It is worth asking ‘how much time will I have to take off if this injury continues and gets worse?’. Many people will compensate their injured hand or leg with the other hand and leg. This puts extra pressure on the other joints, muscles and ligaments, resulting in a litany of injuries to many other parts of the body.
Deep Tissue Massage
Once the injuries and pain are dealt with, it is time to think about preventing future injuries from occurring. Regular appointments for deep tissue massage can help with old injuries, while also working out any knots or tension. Poor posture, and tension in the body, can be a result of sitting for long periods, on a tractor for example. A deep tissue massage every 4-6 weeks, depending on the necessity, can help you to stay injury and pain free. Find out more about how Deep Tissue Massages can help here.
Physiotherapy for Farmers with Plantar Fasciitis
One very common, but painful, condition that famers are at risk of developing is a foot condition called Plantar Fasciitis (PF) due to the amount of time spent in wellies. There is very little support for the foot in a wellie, which can lead to the development of PF. The sooner this condition is treated, the quicker recovery will be. Shockwave therapy is recommended for sufferers of PF, as well as manual therapy and orthotics. A home exercise programme also helps to minimise chances of re-occurrence.