Physical wellbeing
Staying healthy and active
During these challenging and uncertain times it has never been more important to keep healthy and active. With state of the art equipment to super spacious facilities, the Sports and Wellness Hub is a fitness experience at its finest and we’re here to keep you moving, whether you visit the Hub or work out at home:
- We’ll continue to stream popular fitness classes on our members only Facebook group with our awesome instructors! You can view the class timetable here
- Keep motivated and look after your wellbeing with home workouts and lifestyle tips
- FREE trial to LES MILLS on demand home workouts and virtual classes
- Access our free fitness classes and choose a class and time that works for you
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Musculoskeletal Health. Find out how to keep your musculoskeletal system healthy.
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What Are Musculoskeletal Conditions?
Musculoskeletal health conditions can take on a variety of forms:
• Joint conditions – e.g. arthritis including, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
• Bone conditions – e.g. osteoporosis
• Spinal disorders.
• Regional pain disorders – e.g. tennis elbow, frozen shoulder.
• Musculoskeletal injuries – e.g. bone or muscle injuries caused by physical injury, sports injuries, repetitive strain injuries, headaches or posture related injuries.Why Does Musculoskeletal Health Matter?
Musculoskeletal health is vital for overall mental and physical well-being.
• Musculoskeletal health supports us with dexterity, mobility and co-ordination, as well as increasing our overall physical and mental fitness.
• A failure to take care of your musculoskeletal health can lead to heightened anxiety and depression.
• Musculoskeletal disorders can quickly and easily affect physical function, leading to back pain, joint pain and repetitive strain injury.Creating Good MSK Health
There is a lot we can do to help ourselves. A well-balanced diet, increased physical activity, reduced alcohol consumption and improving our posture can all help.
Top 5 Foods for Good Musculoskeletal Health - EatLove.Live Visit this site and find out the best foods to eat and what to avoid.There are plenty of wellbeing treatments to try: yoga, aromatherapy, Pilates and massage treatments have all been shown to aid MSK health.
If you are experiencing severe symptoms a visit to your GP or Occupational Health is vital.
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Local referrals: Service Detail | Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust (covwarkpt.nhs.uk)
Rheumatology - University Hospital (Coventry) - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
RESOURCES TO TRY
Whatever you try it is important to seek professional advice and information before embarking upon any programme.
About arthritis | Conditions, symptoms, treatments, support (versusarthritis.org)
Resources, helpline and treatments.
Musculoskeletal health: applying All Our Health - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
A government web site for professionals which includes information about looking after our MSK system.
An inter-active e-learning programme.
Musculoskeletal Health | Homeworkers | Thrive At Home | MHPP
A toolkit of resources when working from home.
Stretches & Exercise - FREE Downloads | Hinterland Chiropractic (goldcoastchiropractor.com)
An Australian web site with free resources
OH University | Chiropractor Gold Coast | Hinterland Chiropractic (goldcoastchiropractor.com)
An Australian web site with some excellent information sheets on all kinds of MSK conditions and how to help yourself.
Check out our Keeping Active Pages
Keeping active
Fitness classes and videos - Warwick Sport offers free online fitness classes, as well as state-of-the-art facilities and in person classes at our Sports Hub.
Couch to 5k - A 9-week couch to 5k plan with weekly podcasts
Desk exercises - Even when sitting at your desk, or make-shift desk, there are plenty of desk exercises and stretches you can do to keep your joints happy.
Exercises to help counteract screen-time
Exercise plans - Follow the NHS strength and flex exercise plan - this is a 5-week plan delivered through podcasts including a series of equipment-free exercises designed to improve your strength and flexibility.
More ideas and resources
Campus walks
Woodland walks for autumn
12 ways to make a work day a work-it day
Six yoga warm ups for wrist pain and carpal tunnel syndrome
Exercises to help counteract screen-timeBack Care From The Health and Safety Team
Guidance on carrying out manual handling risk assessments, good manual handling practice and back care.
Manual Handling Train the Trainer
Book online for the Manual handling- Trainer the Trainer course with City and Guilds certification.
Occupational Health Services
The University's Occupational Health service is part of the Health and Safety Department.
The service is led by a Senior Occupational Health Adviser, Charlotte Green, with support from an Occupational Health Adviser, Lesley Wills. They are supported by an Occupational Health Physician, a Physiotherapist and administrative staff. Please see the contacts page for phone and email details.
What sort of things do we do
Occupational Health professionals have knowledge of what is likely to make people unwell at work. Working together with Health and Safety Advisers, Human Resource Advisers, managers and staff we can help make sure work places, and the jobs we do, are as safe as we can reasonably and practically make them. If a person has a disability or an ongoing health problem or if they are returning to work after absence, we can provide advice and support on suitable changes to help them stay in or return to work.
We provide health assessments for fitness to work and carry out Health Surveillance.
We can provide information to managers and staff on health matters, skin care and protection and well-being initiatives as well as providing more detailed advice on work related topics such as working with computers and manual handling. Information can also be found by following links in the Policy, Arrangements & Guidance.
How can I be referred to Occupational Health?
Referral to Occupational Health is completed by your line manager or Head of Department, in consultation with their Human Resources link person. For each referral a separate OH referral form must be completed by HR or Management and saved as a word document. The completed OH Referral FormLink opens in a new window should then be upload to Files.Warwick and sent via the 'Send' option to occupationalhealth@warwick.ac.uk. For more information on Files.Warwick please see the following ITS PageLink opens in a new window.
In light of the recent Covid-19 pandemic and implementation of increased hybrid working we are offering remote consultation via MS Teams and telephone. Please advise on the referral whether face to face, MS Teams or telephone consultation would be preferred. Please also ensure that a contact telephone number for the individual being referred is provided within the referral form if a telephone consultation is preferred.****
What else do I need to know?
All Occupational Health staff work under a professional code of confidentiality. What this means is that your personal and medical information is not shared with anyone outside Occupational Health unless you consent for us to do this.
We do not provide medical treatments or a first aid service.
Any queries regarding Occupational Health and the service provided should be sent directly to: occupationalhealth@warwick.ac.uk.
Employee Assistance Programme
The University also offers an Employee Assistance Programmne (EAP) where a wide range of useful information, resources for self-help and telephone (and sometimes 'face-to-face') support can be accessed.
LINKS
ITS Files.WarwickLink opens in a new window
For Health and Safety queries see the Contact Us page
For training requests and advice contact HealthSafetyTraining@warwick.ac.ukHealth and Safety Department, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 8UW |
Keeping you safe
The safety of our customers and staff is our top priority and we have strict safety measures and extensive cleaning protocols to keep everyone safe, well and active.
Visit Warwick Sport for full details on how we’re keeping our Warwick community active.
Mindful Movement workshops
Our new Mindfulness through Movement workshop brings together aspects of mindfulness and applies them to movement through brisk walking, jogging and running. Learn more about the workshop and book your place.Link opens in a new window
Self help resources
In addition to the masterclasses, webinars and drop in sessions, you can also access self help resources which have been developed by Wellbeing and Student Support and colleagues.
The following self help resources aim to help you to stay healthy and active at home:
- Alcohol and Responsible DrinkingLink opens in a new window
- CaffeineLink opens in a new window
- Eating DistressLink opens in a new window
- SleepLink opens in a new window
You can find the full list of self help resources hereLink opens in a new window.
Employee Assistance Programme
Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a confidential support service designed to help the University of Warwick workforce deal with personal and professional problems that could be affecting your home life or work life, health and general wellbeing.
Health Assured offers cover for you and (in certain circumstances) your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Their services include:
- Life support: Unlimited access to counselling for emotional problems and a pathway to structured telephone counselling or face-to-face counselling sessions (employees only) at your convenience.
- Legal information: For any issues that cause anxiety or distress including debt management, accountancy, lawsuits, consumer disputes, property or neighbour legalities (employees only).
- Bereavement support: Health Assured offers qualified and experienced counsellors who can help with grief and related stress plus a team of legal advisors to help with legal issues.
- Medical information: Qualified nurses are on hand to offer advice on a range of medical or health related issues. They can’t diagnose but can offer a sympathetic ear and practical information and advice.
- CBT online: We recognise the value of self-help tools in dealing with a range of issues, which is why we have a range of CBT self-help modules, informative factsheets and invaluable advice videos from leading qualified counsellors.
Learn about, and access, the EAP here.Link opens in a new window