Ergonomics in the workplace is often ignored

Did you know that one third to one half of our field injuries are musculoskeletal disorders such as strains and sprains, rotator cuff syndrome, lower back disorders, and tendinitis (IP- Incident Prevention)? Also, workers' compensation costs for these injuries far exceed those for acute incidents such as burns, cuts, and even fractures (IP). Back pain is one of the most common injuries; it can result from lifting heavy items to sitting "wrong" in an office chair. People who sit in office chairs are at high risk for non-accidental back injury. Although this is true, back pain can result from various outlets. Spine Health states that back pain can result from a non accidental injury where pain arises from "normal" activities or from an accidental injury where an unexpected event triggers injury during a task. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that MSDs accounted for 29 percent of all workplace injuries requiring time away from work in 2007, compared to 30 percent of total days-away-from-work cases in 2006.

Both employers and employees tend to attribute back pain to non-work related activities but the majority of the time there is a work-related component. Since both employers and employees tend to attribute back pain to everyday life or to old age, ergonomics is often overlooked. Ignoring ergonomics can lead to worker's compensation or increased health care premiums and reduced productivity.

Occupations that are physically demanding and require repetitive lifting are at greatest risks. Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants had a musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) rate of 252 cases per 10,000 workers, a rate more than seven times the national MSD average for all occupations. Laborers and freight handlers had a MSD rate of 149 and light and delivery truck drivers had a MSD rate of 117.

Incident Prevention lists some of the following as ways to address the work-related stressors:
1. Contact vendors to trail new tools- ex: lighter, faster tools (take note that some of these tools might backfire by adding other problems to the task)
2. Train health and safety practitioners to identify ergonomic risk factors and suggest task, equipment, material and tool changes.
3. Adopt a strict business case methodology for H&S improvements so that ergonomics rises to the top.

Employers can also help by identifying ergonomic risk factors and apply ergonomic training to it. Educating your employees can go a long way. OSHA has developed a four-pronged ergonomics strategy that was designed to quickly and effectively address MSDs in the workplace. OSHA's strategy is a combination of industry-specific and task-specific guidelines, outreach, enforcement, and research. For more information on this visit osha.gov.

Sources:
osha.gov
bls.gov
Seeley, Patricia. "A Full Commitment." Incident Prevention Oct. 2009: 21-23. Print.
Triano, John J., and Nancy C. Selby. "Ergonomics of the Workplace: Overview." Spine-Health. Web. 3 Nov. 2009.