Tradie Injury Prevention - Physio tips for Tradies

Tradie Injury Prevention: The 3 Pillars We as Physios Want You to Know

This August, we’re supporting Tradies National Health Month! Our physiotherapists share simple tips, exercises, and injury prevention strategies to help tradies stay strong, safe, and pain-free on site.

What are the most common Tradie Injuries we physiotherapists treat?

  1. Lower Back Pain → Disc bulges, pinched nerves, and strained muscles.

  2. Shoulder Strains & Rotator Cuff Injuries

  3. Knee Injuries & Meniscus Tears

  4. Elbow & Wrist Pain

  5. Ankle Sprains

For a lot of tradies, the body is the most important tool. Each day involves lifting, carrying, climbing, bending, twisting, and working in awkward spaces — often for long hours. Over time, these demands can lead to injuries that affect not just your work but also your lifestyle.

Effective injury prevention comes down to three key pillars: training the body, priming the body, and using safe technique wherever possible.

1. Train Your Body for the Job

The best way to prevent injuries is to prepare your body for the exact stresses your job demands. A sparky working overhead needs different strength and mobility than a concreter bending, lifting, and twisting for hours on end. That’s why generic gym routines aren’t always enough — your training should match the positions, loads, and endurance your work requires.

That means:

  • Strength & mobility → Choose exercises that mimic job-specific movements and joint angles
  • Endurance → Train your body to hold positions safely for longer
  • Balance & control → Build stability for tricky, uneven, or awkward environments

This can be physio-led or self-directed, depending on your confidence and experience. For example:

  • If your job involves crouching and lifting, practising controlled crouch lifts in the gym with good technique is a great start — especially under professional guidance if you’re unsure.
  • If you regularly lift materials from the ground with one hand, you can train this using one-handed dumbbell deadlifts or lunges instead of just relying on the classic double-stance deadlift.

Standard exercises still have good crossover, but job-specific training better prepares your body for the exact demands you face every day — and helps keep you safer on the tools.

2. Prime Your Body Before You Start (aka Warming-up)

Whole body generic warm-ups that you see online are a great starting point for any activity however it might not be the best for your job. The best way to prepare your body for the day is to warm up by practising the movements you’re about to perform — safely and without any load. Instead of generic stretches, focus on rehearsing the specific actions you’ll need for your tasks.

For example, if you’re an electrician installing a light fitting, you might need to twist your torso and reach overhead. A simple way to prime your body is to mimic that motion:

  • Stand in position and gently rotate your torso both directions
  • Extend your arms overhead as if fitting the light
  • Repeat the movement a few times under control

This warms up your legs, core, shoulders, and arms in a way that’s directly relevant to your work.

The same principle applies to lifting, crouching, climbing, or carrying — perform a few light, controlled reps of the motion first. It switches your muscles, joints, and tendons on, reducing the shock when you later add full load, weight, or duration.

3. Use Safe Technique — Where You Can

Every tradie has heard “lift with your knees, not your back,” but we know it’s not always that simple. Work sites are messy, spaces are cramped, materials are heavy, and sometimes you have to hold awkward positions for longer than your body likes.

That said, using the safest technique where possible still makes a big difference:

  • Keep loads close to your body when lifting
  • Brace your core before moving weight
  • Minimise the amount of twisting of the body when carrying heavy objects where possible
  • Use team lifts, trolleys, or mechanical aids whenever available

We acknowledge there will be times where “perfect form” just isn’t possible. That’s why it’s so important to combine safe lifting habits with training and priming — so your body can better handle those unavoidable stresses.

Overall:

Your work as a tradie is physical. Injuries, aches, and strains are common — but they’re not inevitable. By training your body for your job, priming it before you start, and using safe technique where you can, you can reduce injury risks and stay healthier on the tools for longer.