Overuse injuries, also known as repetitive strain injuries, can occur in any industry. Workers experience them from awkward body positions and repetitive movements for long periods. While they primarily affect the fingers, hands, and wrists, they can appear in other body parts and reduce productivity.
Knowing how to prevent injuries in the workplace is one of the most crucial steps in keeping employees safe. You can do so by making a few changes to your workplace and performing stretching exercises to prevent repetitive strain injury. Here is a quick guide to help you get started.
Symptoms of Overuse Injuries
Symptoms of overuse injuries will vary depending on the injury site and its severity. However, most occupational overuse injuries occur in the hands, shoulders, neck, and back with the following symptoms:
- Swelling
- Pain and discomfort
- Limited joint mobility
- Muscle numbness and weakness
Risk Factors of Overuse Injuries
To learn how to prevent overuse injuries, you need to know their risk factors. These injuries result from repetitive movements that can put the body under stress. The following risk factors can also contribute to them:
- Long hours of repetitive work without breaks
- Tools that force the body into awkward positions
- Workstations that are too high or low for the employees
- A workplace design that necessitates repetitive bending and twisting
Prevent Overuse Injuries
You can reduce overuse injuries and prevent musculoskeletal disorders using the following steps.
1. Proper Safety Training
The first step in learning how to prevent overuse injuries is educating your staff on proper body mechanics and ergonomics. Workplace safety training includes teaching employees the correct techniques for performing their jobs without putting their bodies under unnecessary stress.
As a part of your safety training, you can teach your workforce stretching exercises to prevent repetitive strain injury. You can also hang educational posters showing proper body positions for working.
2. Workplace Design Changes
Your next step involves making improvements around the workplace to create the safest environment for your employees. An ergonomic evaluation by professional ergonomists can help determine areas that need improvement. They can show you how to prevent injuries in the workplace by reducing risk factors. For instance, you may need to buy better desks and chairs so your office workers can perform their jobs comfortably. You may also need to rearrange the equipment to keep everything within reach or buy ergonomically designed furniture. The changes you need to make will vary based on your industry. Nonetheless, they will ultimately help your employees perform better and stay safe.
3. Stretching Exercises
Having your employees perform stretching exercises before and during work is another helpful strategy.
If you want to know how to prevent overuse injuries, you should have your employees try stretching at work. They can warm up before their shifts to prepare for their demanding tasks or take breaks throughout the day to avoid overexertion.
Here are some stretching exercises they can try to prevent repetitive strain injuries.
Neck Stretch
Reach behind your back while tilting your head to the other side. You should feel your neck and upper shoulder stretching.
Wrist Stretch
Straighten one arm and bend your wrist. Hold it downward with the other hand, applying slight pressure. You should feel this move stretching the back of your hand. Now bend your wrist backward and apply pressure upward to warm up the front of your hand.
Shoulder blade squeeze
Learn how to stretch your shoulders to prevent overuse injuries. All you need to do is sit with your elbows at your sides and squeeze your shoulder blades together to feel them relax.
Hamstring Stretch
Put one heel in front of the other and straighten your knees. Keeping your back straight, slowly bend forward. You will feel this stretch in your hamstrings.
These are just some of the stretching exercises to prevent repetitive strain injury. You can hire an industrial athletic training partner to help devise a customized stretching routine for your workers based on their job duties.
Prevent Overuse Injuries With BIOKINETIX
These strategies can give you an idea of how to prevent injuries in the workplace. However, you will need professional help to keep your employees safe. We at BIOKINETIX can help you do that and avoid the emotional and financial burdens of injuries.
Our ergonomists will evaluate your work environment as part of our 3E process and make it safer and more efficient. We use the Science of More UpTime to help you proactively avoid injuries and thrive. Schedule a demo today to see how our programs can protect you and your employees.
