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| Results DIAS March 2006 |
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John Miller conducted Health Assessments for The Organisation in March 2006. The results of 12 participants have been recorded, of whom 3 were men.
Participants completed the following profiles
■ Mind and Body ■ Fitness ■ Musculo-skeletal risk ■ Stress ■ Career Satisfaction
The results are presented in graphic format, with commentary.
CONTEXT The health assessment program conducted by Miller Health is based on the premise that the health of key body systems depends on
• physical fitness • diet and • an ability to manage the stress of both life and work.
Within the Australian community, there is currently an epidemic of body system dysfunctions which when translated into the workplace are associated with increased absenteeism and workers compensation, and decreased work performance and productivity.
There are very few organisations that are immune from this epidemic.
THE PROGRAM The assessments took an holistic look at health, being based on the premise that the major systems of the body maintain healthy function when they are supported by
HEALTH PROFILES The Mind and Body profile was used as a way of obtaining a snap shot of people’s health, fitness and stress levels. In the workplace it is also a good measure of the risk of absenteeism, presenteeism and workers’ compensation.
People in poor shape experience • headaches • poor sleep • lack of energy and vitality • musculo-skeletal dysfunction • frequent colds and flu • obesity • anxiety ...
Sample Because of the nature of the sample selection, it is not appropriate to make organisation-wide generalizations about health and fitness. As the Mind and Body Profile indicates, by and large this was a group of people of average health and fitness.
OH&S risk management Overall we rated the health of the group as average.
The aging population We believe (barring disability) there is nothing stopping anyone of working age from being in exceptionally good physical condition – except lack of training. It's not so much that we have an aging population but a lazy population. We know this is the case because according to the principle of increased dysfunction, people are getting older younger!
Theoretically, as people get older they should be able to maintain a high level of fitness – they’ve had longer to train!
The Governments of Australia base their medical system data on the fact that as people get older they become more dysfunctional. Whilst this may be the case for people over the age of 75, it is not necessarily the case for people of working age . As a general rule, poor health and body system dysfunction goes hand in hand with low levels of physical activity, junk food diets, over-consumption of alcohol, an inability to handle the normal stresses of life and a job that does not suit their personality, intelligence strengths or interests.
MIND AND BODY PROFILE The Mind and Body profile provides people with a very good idea of how well the various systems of the body are functioning, particularly the
• the mind • autonomic nervous system • immune system • digestive system • circulatory system • elimination system • musculo-skeletal system.
On this profile, the lower the score the better. To complete the profile, circle the number appropriate to the degree to which you experience the symptoms on the left hand side of the page. The greater the symptom, the higher the score.
Higher scores are symptomatic of dysfunction of one or more body systems.
People with high levels of stress usually score well over 100.
For people with a score of more than 80, the ‘background noise’ of their life is becoming louder and louder. It is hard to concentrate on your work when body systems are dysfunctional.
We know a fit and healthy group when we see the majority of scores below 40. This was not the case with this group. By and large higher scores are usually a reflection of
• low levels of fitness • an inability to deal with what life and work are serving up to them.
Remember, it is not what happens, but how we deal with what happens that determines our level of stress.
This profile is described as average. The average score was 60.
There is nothing really special about this graph. It represents a flat spread of scores. Those receiving less than 50 are in good to reasonable shape. With scores higher than that people usually experience a lack of energy, headaches, musculo-skeletal pain and suffer from the stress of both their internal and external environments.
How well people score on the Mind and Body profile provides them with a good indication of how fit and healthy they really are.
I read somewhere that we don't see full blown body system dysfunction until the particular system is 70% dysfunctional. What the Mind and Body profile does is pick up the dysfunctions at an early stage - (you know something's wrong and you feel dreadful but you can't put your finger on the particular system that's causing it. It doesn't matter that you don't know the precise system involved. What you are aware of is that one or more of your systems isn't working at full pitch. The good news is that you can restore function to normal by getting fitter, eating wisely, meditating getting the job you'd love to do ...) Very few people became fitter and healthier in a doctor's surgery!
Being vigorously physically active on a regular and systematic basis is the most powerful symbol of your ability to give back to your Self. On top of that it protects the body from a wide range of dysfunctions and contributes to an enhancement of the body's own recuperative powers.
There is an epidemic of body system dysfunction in our community and it is certainly not caused by a lack of Panadol, Avpro, Diabex, Lipitor, Ventolin, Milantin, Celebrex, Valium, Zoloft, Viagra or Anusol!
The mind/body relationship The body is an ecosystem of which the mind is an integral part. Major body systems are frequently negatively affected by stress generated in the mind. The body is incapable of dishonesty!
On the other hand, the mind is effected by the healthy working order of other body systems. Certainly it is affected by physical activity, diet, meditation, acupuncture and a low-toxic environment.
People who are physically fit are less likely to become depressed. They are also more likely to have a strong immune system and an autonomic nervous system that is balanced and healthy in its management of key physiological responses. They are healthy and happy. They have normal blood pressure, they sleep like logs, are about their ideal weighty, rarely, if ever get a headache and don't have a crook back.
As your fitness level improves you can be certain that your score on the Mind and Body profile will also.
FITNESS The fitness profile is comprised of a mix of 10 objective and subjective assessments. • Are you keeping yourself fit and healthy to the best of your ability? • What was your score on the mind and body profile? • Are you about your ideal weight? • Aerobic fitness test • Abdominal strength test • Upper body strength test • Flexibility test • Mobility test • Aerobic activity training behaviour • Level of energy and vitality. A reasonable score is over 70%. Those receiving less than 70 are not training with sufficient vigour or intensity on a regular and systematic basis to keep themselves fit and healthy.
Overall the fitness scores ranged from good to poor. The level of aerobic fitness was patchy, with the majority of people not training on a regular basis. Abdominal strength was ‘patchy’ with half the people unable to do 17 situps, thereby exposing themselves to lower back dysfunction. I would recommend a remediation program for these people. Not everyone could touch their toes –those who can’t are at risk of crook backs and stiff necks as muscles on the back side of their body tighten up and tilt the pelvis backwards. MUSCULO-SKELETAL RISK FACTOR Our musculo-skeletal risk factor profile looked at a range of parameters including mobility, strength and flexibility and whether people are training to keep themselves strong and flexible. The musculo-skeletal risk factor profile is comprised of a mix of 9 objective and 3 subjective assessments. • Current musculo-skeletal condition • Age • Closeness to ideal weight • Abdominal strength test • Upper body strength test • Flexibility • Functional mobility – the ability to sit down and stand up with ease of movement. • Shoulder function • Involvement in a regular and systematic strength training program • Involvement in a regular and systematic flexibility training program A score of 70% is attainable by those who have a regular and systematic training program. Those scoring less than 70 are not doing sufficient in the way of strength and flexibility exercises. They are therefore exposing themselves to a high risk of musculo-skeletal dysfunction. (It would be bizarre for a workplace to offer to pay the rehabilitation costs of people who were not keeping themselves strong enough or flexible enough to do their job without succumbing to musculo-skeletal dysfunction, wouldn't it?) The average score was a mediocre 56.
Several people rated their current musculo-skeletal status as poor. We recommend a workplace remediation program to lower the risk of absenteeism and workers' compensation. The usual suspects had trouble touching their toes - suggestive of tight calves and hamstrings which in turn pull the pelvis back and cause lumbar thoracic and cervical vertebrae to become out of alignment. The result is a crook back, stiff neck, the 'cold' shoulder and dysfunctional wrists (which most people blame on the keyboard). The two principles involved here are 1. Bones do what muscles tell them to do. 2. The cause of the pain is rarely at the site of the pain. As a result, few people, or their therapists attribute lower back and neck pain to their tight calves, buttocks and hamstrings, In the main shoulder function was good. However, the most dramatic of results was the lack of systematic strength and flexibility training. People are setting themselves for future musculo-skeletal dysfunction. Lack of strength and flexibility is something that The Organisation needs to take seriously and monitor carefully and put in place an organisation-wide strategy to improve musculo-skeletal function. By far and away a high proportion of people do not have a strength and flexibility program. As a result they are getting weaker and tighter by the week, thereby exposing themselves and the organisation to risk. When push comes to shove and people become dysfunctional, it will be The Organisation that ends up paying the high cost of an avoidable musculo-skeletal complaint. Click here to read the article from injury to dysfunction. In our opinion musculo-skeletal dysfunction caused by lack of a regular and systematic strength and flexibility program cannot be classified as an injury. Responsibility for musculo-skeletal dysfunction needs to be sheeted home to individual employees, though it’s unlikely to happen without the establishment of a culture within the organisation that supports, values and understands strength and flexibility. We recommend a range of strength and flexibility classes that are readily available Australia: - • Posture and Flexibility • Yoga • Crookback Clinic • Tai Chi • Pontius Pilates The Organisation would place itself in the forefront of OH&S practice if it took the musculo-skeletal risk seriously and moved heaven and earth to educate all staff about this risk and encourage them to take part in a regular strength and flexibility program. Maybe The Organisation and its worker's compensation insurer could invest in a pilot program to increase staff strength and flexibility! Whilst we rate the score as average, the lack of strength and flexibility training and the results of the people who scored poorly in abdominal and upper body strength is a cause for concern and needs to be followed up. STRESS PROFILE Participants completed a simple stress and relaxation profile designed to assist them in making an assessment of how they were affected by stress. It's based on the habits of unstressed people.
If you do what unstressed people do you are less at risk of becoming stressed. I’m yet to see someone who said they were highly stressed or depressed who got a high score on this profile. A good score is over 70.
• How would you rate your current stress level • Do you get a good night’s sleep? • Do you take your holidays? • Are you keeping yourself fit and healthy? • Is there balance in your life? • Do you take time off at lunch time? • How many hours a week do you work? • Are you good at giving back to your Self? • Do you meditate? • Are you happy with your family (and romantic) life?
If you look at the profiles you’ll see that a few people
• lack an ability to manage stress • don’t get a good night’s sleep • don’t take a good long holiday every year • aren’t keeping themselves fit and healthy to the best of their ability • don’t take time off a lunch time to stretch their legs, fart and get a whiff of fresh air and a bit of sunshine • don’t give back to their Self • aren't particularly happy with their family life.
Most people don’t meditate – there is as compelling a reason to meditate as there is to be physically active The matter of stress always needs to be addressed by organisations as part of a personal development thrust, and aimed at all staff. If stress management type programs are to be conducted, all staff need to be involved, otherwise those at most risk and those who are currently most stressed (and too wrapped up in their own busyness) will not attend.
For those who spend long hours at work, (and this didn't apply to this group) I often wonder whether the behaviour is externally or internally driven. I suspect the latter. No body on their death bed ever said 'I wish I'd spent more time at the office.'
In the main people were happy with their family life. This is another fertile area for personal development and counseling programs. It's hard to concentrate at work when your home life is in turmoil. Depression There is an epidemic of 'depression' in the community, and whilst not wishing to make light of the true ‘black dog’ of clinical depression, for some people the symptoms of stress, unhappiness, sadness, grief, hopelessness, disappointment, despair, vacuity, anger and anxiety are being treated as if they were the symptoms of clinical depression. I believe it is appropriate for The Organisation to encourage those people with an unhappiness, anxiety or depression problem to make full use of the counselling services of the EAP and encourage them to do the things that unstressed people do - like keeping themselves fit, having a lunch hour outside, taking their holidays, eating wisely, not working too many hours and ‘getting a life’. It is frequently the case that those people on anti-depressants are not doing the things that unstressed people do to keep their bodies and minds in good shape. The best book about depression I've read, and what you can do about it, and one that I recommend highly is by psychiatrist, David Servan-Schreiber, Healing Without Freud or Prozac.
On the whole this can be described as a mixed result. The average score was 53.
CAREER SATISFACTION The parameters in the profile relate to a mix of factors influenced by the participant, management and their colleagues.
• How close are you to doing the job you’d really like to be doing? • Are you in the right job for now? • Is work giving you life or sucking life out of you? • Are you focused on your career options? • Do you get good feedback from your manager? • Do you receive an appropriate financial reward? • Do you feel you and your work are valued and appreciated? • Do you work for an organisation that cares about people? • Do you enjoy the company of the people you work with? • What’s the level of morale like in your work group?
Normally, when results on the overall career profile are less than 70/100, people agree that they’re not in the right job. Certainly those scoring less than 60 have sufficient issues relating to career management as to seriously consider making a job or career change.
This is a pretty good result. The average score was 72.
When I look at the graphs I see several of distinct trends.
Overall the results are good. The average score was 72%. RECOMMENDATIONS See the generic list of recommendations. |
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