work-RELATED stress and days off sick due to back pain are growing headaches for Bolton's businesses.

Now the town's biggest employer, Bolton Council, is pioneering a new form of health plan which could reduce sickness rates and encourage other local organisations to follow its example.

Absenteeism due to stress and back pain caused hundreds of lost working days at the town hall last year.

Now thousands of office workers are being targeted in a health scheme to reduce sickness rates and improve the council's competitiveness. It is one of the first schemes of its kind in Britain. Council chiefs found that joint pain, stress and back pain are some of the biggest reasons behind workers ringing in sick.

Pain

Home care workers and office staff are more likely to suffer from back pain. Teachers and leisure workers are more likely to suffer psychological problems.

John Daniels, health and fitness coordinator for Bolton Council, said: "We have modelled this on schemes used in America. As far as we know, we are one of the first local authorities in Britain to pilot the scheme. It has been a great success so far."

The health plan, begun in 1999, provides workshops and health consultants for the council's 13,000 workforce.

Physiotherapist Andrea Charlton, who runs clinics at the Excel centre and is employed by the Community Healthcare Bolton NHS Trust, said: "It is common for office workers to suffer from back pain. The human body wasn't designed to be still and stooped over a desk. People should move around in the office and not sit still for too long, or they risk a whole range of problems with the spine."

Perfectionists

Stress is the second biggest cause of occupational ill health at Bolton Council. Those who have close contact with the public, such as teachers and social workers, have had the largest referral rate with stress problems.

Clinical psychologist Kerry McCullough, part of the council's occupational health unit, said: "People who are perfectionists suffer more from stress than those who have 'reactive' personalities.

"Certain levels of stress is essential in order that we get out of bed each day, but once you reach a certain point and are pushed beyond this level your performance starts to suffer. This can also make people ill.

"Many people don't ring work and say they are not coming in because they are suffering from stress. They say they have a headache, or bad cold or other minor sickness ailments, so the exact figures are difficult to compile."

The best cure for stress is exercise for most people as well as regular sessions with a psychologist. The council is now looking at ways to set up a research team to link the health plan with the sickness figures. SICKNESS FACTFILE 48 town hall workers have been referred for back pain problems since the spring

87 per cent of those suffering back pain were home care workers who had lower back problems

Since May, 76 per cent of workers suffering from back pain have been rehabilitated BEFORE they took time off work -- they came forward complaining of back-related pain

40 workshops have been held for 420 employees across the borough since June covering relaxation techniques, lifestyles, joint problems, women's health, men's health and pre-retirement advice

Since April, 200 employees have joined the health and exercise scheme

By the end of August the occupational health unit had referred 101 employees to the ill health rehabilitation scheme

"Somehow, it doesn't sound that good with the manager by saying you are suffering from stress.