As the Quality Control Manager here at  F.I.T., the Backsafe® Injury Prevention company, I’ve read our various articles and newsletters about debilitating back pain from sprain/strain injuries and wondered about it. I’ve tried to imagine what it might be like to have an injury that devastating. Of course my imaginings are never close to the real thing.

I have a fairly sedentary job and I’m a mom of an almost two-year old. I don’t consider myself at high risk for workplace injuries. I still try to incorporate the Backsafe® stretches, lifts and safety precautions whenever and wherever possible. In fact, I was originally going to write about how often I bend and lift things during the day. I was even going to count how many times a day I picked up my daughter (almost 30 lbs now), her toys, placed her into and out of the car, stayed bent over for a prolonged period of time (bath time – the worst!). That idea quickly dissipated. You try keeping count when you are running after little miss funny pants!

Instead, I had an injury of my own this week (not by choice, of course). Luckily it was relatively quickly remedied and not back related. But it had quite an impact on me – not simply because it was excruciatingly painful, but because of how much I was not able to do. How much I was not able to be there for my kiddo, play with her, laugh with her, or even smile for her sometimes.  Not to mention how much her good little heart was trying to help me, though there wasn’t much she could do (we decided hugs were best). It was heart wrenching!

Now that I am well again, and can think a bit more clearly, I can look at and fully appreciate the idea of prevention. It was the accumulation of many little things that led up to my injury, much like sprains and strains in the workplace. Prevention is a novel idea with regard to workplace injuries. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have never had an injury to begin with? How much time, money, energy, and upset could be spared by completely avoiding that situation? Sadly, it sometimes takes an incident to bring the idea of prevention to the forefront.

It’s always good to be reminded of the blessings we have. Backsafe training is one of those blessings for me. To me it’s one thing that I feel empowered to do to keep myself healthy and present for the ones that are most important to me. That is a priceless value in my eyes.

By Julie Villinsky, Quality Control Manager, Future Industrial Technologies

While teaching over 1 million employees how to prevent back and shoulder injuries we often times have to teach alternative lifting techniques.

The facts of the matter are some people have knee pain or are in some state of de-conditioning and can’t perform textbook biomechanical movements.

Unfortunately if our legs don’t allow us to go to the floor to pick up a box, we end up bending over at the waist and using our backs to lift instead of our legs.

The “proper” way to lift is:

• Keep your back straight
• Head up
• Use your legs to elevate

Keeping your back “straight” maintains your spine’s natural curves and protects your disks and other aspects of your back’s anatomy.  This is accomplished by keeping your head up when lifting.

Supported Lift

Safety Tips For Bad Knees

• For heavier items, such as a box:  turn it on one of its ends first to raise the box’s center of gravity so you don’t have to stoop as low.  Also, if you are yourself stacking or storing items, put the heavier ones on top so a deep squat will be unnecessary when retrieving it later.
  

  Golfer’s Lift

• Lifting something with a handle, such as a suitcase, grocery bags, laundry bag, etc?  Try a supported lift.  Grab the handle and while lifting, support your weight using the other hand on your thigh.
• Lighter items like a small grocery bag or even a stray sock, you can use a golfer’s lift.

Hopefully these safety tips will help preserve your knees and your back.  Let us know how they work out for you!

Here are a few tips to consider when spending a lot of time in your vehicle:

• Any sustained posture for long periods of time isn’t ideal for your body.  Changing your seat position from time to time can help prevent irritating discomfort.
• At least every 2 hours get out of your car and move around a little to help get your blood flowing and to relieve stress from being in a sustained sitting posture.
• When getting out of the car, do not twist especially while bent at the waist.
• Immediately after getting out of your car, do the following simple stretches:

Back extensions: these reverse the sitting posture, thus relieving stress.

Chest extension:  When driving your arms are holding on to the steering wheel.  The chest extension is the reverse posture to this and can give you much relief–and even help you to breathe more deeply.

Hamstring stretch: When we sit, our hamstrings shorten.  Tight hamstrings can affect our backs.  Stand approximately 3 feet from your car with your legs straight–shoulder width apart.  With your hands on the car for support, bend forward at the waist with your head level, looking straight ahead.  This will help your hamstrings return to normal length and help protect your back.

Digging, wheel barrowing, lifting bags of soil amendments, etc., even for the well conditioned athlete, can if not done correctly, cause back pain and injury.

Tips for shoveling:

Have the right tools

Digging with a proper shovel can make a big difference.  Make sure you use a shovel that is light and has a long handle so you can shovel in a more upright position.  Remember, not only are you lifting the dirt, but you have the weight of the shovel and yes, even your arms that contribute to the resulting force on your spine.

Know your spine

You have 3 curves in your spine.  When shoveling try to maintain those curves, in other words, keep your back as straight as you can.  Bending at the waist while lifting a shovel full of soil puts undue pressure on your low back.  A trick to help you is when lifting, keep your head up.  You don’t have to look at the sky, just keep your head in a neutral or straight forward posture.  This will help keep your back straight and make you use your bigger and more powerful leg muscles more.  Lastly, never twist when shoveling.  Always aim your “drop” zone at either the 10 or 2 o’clock position.  Never shovel to your side (9 or 3 o’clock position) or behind you.

Working around the yard can be invigorating and even good for your muscles if you do it correctly.  In fact, when done correctly can be a good physical activity.

After You’re Done…

A thorough stretch can’t be understated in terms of benefits!  You’ve worked your body hard, it likes a moment to regroup!  Take a moment to survey the effects you’ve just created, take some deep breaths and stretch those muscles to help avoid soreness the next day.

His particular malady was caused by improper wrist position while buffing the hospital’s floors.  He was exerting force and sustaining bad wrist position for long durations while operating his buffer machine.  Add vibration to the mix and it caused enough pain and inflammation to ruin his peace of mind and life style. 

A key datum to know is: whenever possible, keep your wrist straight.  This particular person worked with his wrists in extension (hands bent up higher that his wrists). 

The muscles that move your fingers are in your forearms and when your wrists are in extension, this contracts the muscle on the topside of your forearms.  When chronically in this posture, fatigue, discomfort, pain and eventually injury can surely occur. 

So, while you’re at work buffing floors; breaking up concrete with a jack hammer; using other power tools; or typing on a keyboard, keep your wrists straight. 

At home, the same rule applies.  

The importance of stretching cannot be overstated as well.  A brief and simple stretch can bring some relief.  Gently flex your wrists up and down—extra stretch can be attained by using the opposite hand to slowly pull fingers back towards forearm; and conversely, pull fingers towards the underside of your forearm.  If you experience any pain while doing this, stop immediately and seek a doctor’s advice.  

You can be in charge of your own well-being.  It is not your doctor’s job—it is yours.  Your doctor helps you if you become injured or sick.  You can be in charge of preventing injuries!

Looking out the office window I spied a team of roofers stripping a damaged roof, repairing it and re-shingling.  The sight of 12 men on a steep roof, with very few safety precautions in place gave me heart palpitations—a slight fear of heights revisited perhaps?!

Setting aside the slips/falls risk, I observed several shockingly egregious biomechanical no-nos.   Here you can see the torqueing whilst lifting heavy, bulky packages of roofing materials; bending at the waist, as opposed to lifting correctly…can you spot some additional safety offenses? 

It made me think about the diversity of job tasks and the epidemic of ignorance of proper biomechanics, and by ignorance I mean that people just don’t know!

Each of these roofers is important to someone—as a father, husband, friend, son, brother, co-worker.  When (and it is a near certainty that an injury will occur with the every day strain he places upon himself with poor biomechanics) he becomes injured, each of these people will be adversely affected.  Not to mention the poor injured soul who thinks that the injury occurred because of an isolated action.  He won’t know that it was repeated at-risk motions that gradually wore his body down until it gave in to the damage.  He won’t know that the injury could have been prevented.  And, most unfortunate, he’ll likely return to the same job with the same bad habits and become re-injured.  Thus, the tragic cycle of injury-work comp—re-injury and thus the business owner’s workers’ comp premium skyrockets. 

So, now I’ll step down from my soapbox and talk about solutions…

1. Stretch muscles before, during and after repeated and/or strenuous activities.  These stretches don’t take much time, they are simple and most importantly, they are effective!
2. Always Face the Load When Lifting. This mantra reflects the spine’s desire to NOT twist!
3. Keep the Load Close to Your Body.  Reaching out from your body puts incrementally more and more pressure on your spine—again, it does NOT like this!
4. Keep Your Head Level While Lifting.  This helps to keep the naturally occurring curves in your spine in the correct position.
5. Wear some type of safety harness while working on high, unprotected surfaces, like a ROOF!

So, these are the tips that I share with you from these photos.  Have you got some good ones to add to my list?  Let’s hear ‘em!

None of these activities are pleasurable when you have a painful back!  Do you know that most back injuries are caused by physical stress that innocently accumulates over time?   That’s right!  Chances are you were never taught how to do typical daily activities like getting in and out of a car; lifting a cooler into and out of a trunk; lifting kids or laundry; or how to shovel dirt in your garden.  80% of us will have a back incident in our lives due to improper usage of our bodies!  The good news is this means that life altering back pain is preventable! 

The first thing to know is that you can have control over whether or not you will ever have a back injury by simply learning more about what our backs like and don’t like.  Preventing the little daily innocent stresses that add up to eventually cause you pain is key.  

Here is a suggestion that you can work on.  Do NOT “hinge” at the waist when lifting.  Your lower back does not like when you bend over to lift something.  It can cause significant and continuous pressure on your lumbar spine and disks.  Your “lumbar curve” should be maintained as much as possible when lifting, thus the adage: “use your legs” when lifting.  By planning ahead you can frequently avoid lifting from the ground.  Before loading the cooler, place the empty cooler on a table or raised surface–anything that will help you to avoid bending.  When re-potting plants, don’t do it on the ground, have a table or bench or something that helps you to maintain an upright position.  

Do this simple exercise to help you break the habit of bending over when lifting.  In order for you to recognize the perilous behavior, stand up and bend slightly at the waist.  Remember, this is an at-risk motion so bend minimally so that you can experience the feeling of what you should NOT be doing!  Good!  Now that you know how this feels, you will be more aware when you lift incorrectly so that you can catch yourself and do it more safely. 

Next, place your feet shoulder width apart for good balance and elevate up and down without bending at the waist.  This is the optimum lifting stance.  My guess is that you just realized that you bend at the waist a lot!  This is a main reason why countless lives are ruined by back injuries. 

Use your legs to raise and lower your body, not your back.  Each time you do this you will be strengthening and toning your leg muscles versus weakening and hurting your back. 

Thinking ahead a little and using correct lifting techniques can become a life long habit.  If you need more information or help, we’d be happy to assist!  Good luck!

Where are the muscles that move your fingers and why is it important to know?  They are in your forearm.  These muscles transition into tendons that go through the wrist joint and attach to your finger bones—in layman’s terms.

 “Keep your wrists straight while typing” is a key principle in our office ergonomics program—Sittingsafe®.  You want to minimize friction and resistance in your wrist area to prevent accumulated repetitive stress. 

 This is why we don’t want you using those darn “feet” in the back of the keyboard!  When these are utilized, the back of your keyboard is raised, which in turn, forces your wrists to bend (spitting cobra style!).  If anything, the front of your keyboard should be raised so that your wrists can stay straight.  Your keyboard is at the correct height when your hands are slightly below your elbows when typing. 

 F.I.T. Rule:  “Keep wrists straight” and not just when typing.

 We have helped prevent surgeries for those that work on computers, buff floors, use jackhammers, and in countless manufacturing jobs.  Hand and wrist pain can alter your lifestyle considerably.  Use these tips to help keep you happy, healthy and in the game!

 Let us know if this helps!

 We have focused our programs (Backsafe® and Sittingsafe®) on the belief that in order to prevent work related injuries, you must also include how to prevent off work injuries too.  After all, your spine and other body parts register physical stress no matter what you are doing.

The first thing we accomplish in our training is to establish a “personal wellness attitude”.  There are too many instances in our society where people are treated as victims of their environment.  Aches and pains are explained as “it’s just part of the job” or part of the “aging process”. 

 In a recent Sittingsafe Ergonomic Workshop, one employee stated:  “it is about time someone told me how I can help prevent aches and pains.”

 Employees do not want to be in pain.  Teaching people that they can have a say in how they feel is very empowering.

 A simple tip that can make a huge difference to those who work on a computer at home or work is the following:

Never reach for your keyboard!  Your arms can weigh up to 12-15% of your body weight.  Keep your elbows by your side while typing.  This will help prevent neck and should discomfort and may even help you get rid of dull, tension related headaches!

 Have you thought about strategies to enhance your employees’ wellness?  If you need some help, let us know.  We have years of experience in industry across the board.

Neck, shoulder, wrist, back pain and even mild or acute headaches can be the result of having your computer, keyboard, or mouse in the wrong position.

Isn’t it amazing that nowhere in our educational system were we ever taught how to use our bodies correctly, while we perform simple activities of daily living?

Here are a few tips to put you in more control of how you feel. 

Standard Size Monitor height—the top of the screen should be at eye level.  You should be able to read your screen without tilting your head up or down.  This can be adjusted by something as low tech as a phone book—finally there’s use for the good ol’ phone book you have hanging around!

Monitor distance—your monitor should be at a position that allows you to easily read comfortably–approximately an arm’s length away.  If it is too far away you will reach your head out towards the screen to see it better.  This “forward head posture” is pandemic with today’s office worker and is a major cause of neck and shoulder discomfort and can cause headaches.  Move your monitor closer or even increase your font size (!) if you need to, in order to prevent you from jutting your chin towards your monitor.

Our Sittingsafe® Office ergonomic workshop teaches employees how to adjust their workstation correctly for their bodies, in order to eliminate insidious physical tension that can accumulate over time from improper computer use.  Please contact us, we can help!