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Work Related Muscular Skeletal Disorders - A Three Step Solution to
Wellness
- In 1992, ergonomic disorders
accounted for 56% of the illnesses reported to the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This
is double 1984 levels.
- In 1992, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics recorded 280,000 cases out of one million
injuries were CTD's of the upper extremities, wrists,
shoulders and elbows.
- The American Academy of
Orthopedic Surgeons estimates cumulative trauma disorders
(CTD) cost $27 billion annually in medical treatment and
lost income.
- Claims for repetitive strain
disorders cost employers some $100 billion annually,
according to industry estimates...Newsweek, June 26, 1995.
- Repetitive Motion Complaints
- 55% of the large companies report an increase in worker
complaints of repetitive motion injury in 1996 vs.1995.
Monies spent for preventive action were: 84% - Modify equipment/task/process; 83% - analyze Work stations/jobs;
79% Buy new equipment; 63% - Refer workers to in house
medical care: 62% - Train workers in ergonomics. August
15, 1996 USA Today.
These statistics are staggering,
if you only look toward one solution. An article in Ergonomics
News, (March-April 1996 Edition), titled, Evaluating Ergonomic
Progress by James P. Kohn, an Associate Professor of
Industrial Technology at East Carolina University, reported
results of a mixed picture - "more than one-third of
respondents reported workers' compensation costs, injury
reporting and worker complaints actually increased due to
their ergonomic efforts." What did improve was
employee morale, hazard control, quality and health awareness.
What became evident after reading this article is that
ergonomic changes were not enough to eradicate musculoskeletal
disorders in the workplace.
If there is to be a change,
companies are going to have to change there perspective on
medical attention towards their employees. The solution is to
look at a combination of ergonomics, therapy and self-care
programs. In today's work environment, whether it is computer
data entry, the assembly line worker or outside hobbies,
people use their body to perform a physical task. The physical
use of the body's musculature eventually can cause repetitive
strain and create an injury such as low back pain, carpal
tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, sprains and strains. This is
normal.
These disorders have been around
since man began using the body to pick-up and carry and
perform any physical task. Only since technology and the
advent of the computer, have we seen a rise in cumulative
trauma disorders (CTDs). So far, the industry's solutions have
only involved the ergonomics of the equipment. Ergonomics is
the science of how the equipment is adjusted to fit the human
body. This is diffidently part of the solution. Every employee
should work in a safe environment. As a clinical therapist, I
advocate three parts to the solution. They are:
- Equipment: insure the
equipment is properly fitted to the individual for maximum
comfort and work efficiency.
- Body Maintenance Therapies,
such as Chiropractic/Osteopathy to manage the structural
misalignment that may occur due to stress on the structure
from the muscles, tendons and ligaments; Muscular Therapy
involving regular massage of the strained muscles and
tendons to relieve the pain and tension from macro and
micro movements. optional, Acupuncture, to help with pain
relief and the emotional stress brought on by the physical
pain.
- Self Care programs to
educate and teach the individual a program of health and
wellness that will insure a productive and viable body.
This would include self alignment, self massage,
stretching, strengthening exercises, stress management,
along with a nutritional program. These are practical and
functional programs that are easy to fit into ones
lifestyle.
These therapies are part of the
maintenance procedures needed to insure a healthy, functioning
and pain-free body. When you bought a brand new car, there was
a maintenance manual that told you when to rotate the tires,
change the oil, and check the alignment. All this to insure it
would continue to run without breaking down. When you were
born you were not given that same maintenance manual to
follow. You just allowed your body to suffer aches and pains
and take it. This is not necessary. Just as the machinery we
work is mechanical, so is the human body. We are not robots
and if we do not take care of the body, oil, lube and grease
it, like our car, on a regular schedule, we will fall apart.
We must start taking responsibility for the up-keep of our
body, if we are to be able to continue to work at our
occupations.
Health and Safety officials
plus the Ergonomist view the solution of musculoskeletal
disorders from the machine fitting the human body and how it
can be made more comfortable and be able to work more
efficiently. A clinical muscle therapist views both sides of
the equation.
Equipment + Body Maintenance
+ Self Care = Healthy, Happy and Productive Employee
Companies, insurance companies,
cities, and states are starting to recognize the fact that if
the employee is trained in how to take care of her/himself,
and provided with the education and medical care that can keep
them productive, the amount of worker compensation claims will
drop and can lead to a more productive and happy individual,
both in and out of the work environment.
The state of Washington under
the direction of Deborah Senn, the commissioner of insurance
is advocating insurance paying for alternative therapies to
give people a choice in remaining healthy. Traditional therapy
as we know it today does not have the answer to solving this
epidemic of Cumulative Trauma Disorder's (CTD's). Surgical
intervention, drugs and just rest are not enough to curb this
epidemic. The statistics are increasing for the worst as
technology demands more and more from the human being.
As the statistics mount for the
adult working population, I have concerns for the children
being introduced to a computer. Terms such as Space Invader's
Wrist, Nintendo Thumb are part of the video game era. With the
year 2000 approaching, President Clinton, Vice President Gore
and Secretary of Education Richard Riley on C-SPAN spoke of
technology and the World Wide Web of information that will
bring children closer to other lands and people. Technology is
designed to expand our universe. But at what risk to a growing
child. It is my prayer and hope that every school will teach
programs in early intervention and prevention of CTD's.
Children are our future. They must be able to use both their
minds as well as their hands if they are to enter the working
force free of musculoskeletal disorders. They do not need to
become a statistic.
Remember, the body does not
function as a robot, and there is NO CURE for muscular
skeletal Injuries, only regular maintenance! It is a motto
worth remembering and understanding the protocol if you are to
keep the body running in tip top condition.
- A current note: October 24,
1996 USA Today: A survey suggests that 18.7 million
children may have internet access. Thirty-five to forty
million adults use the net daily. Net use has skyrocketed
with the incentive to see every child have access to the
internet by the year 2000. Surveys indicate that five
million use it regularly at home. Schools have 50% access
but 9% in the classrooms with 17 kids sharing one PC.
Parents and educational institutions should be aware of
the possible ramifications of computer usage in a growing
child. Schools are not set up to be ergonomically correct
and computer health is not taught in the schools. If we
start teaching our children correct posture, how to set up
a workstation to fit their body, and how to take care of
sore over-strained muscles, maybe they will not become a
statistic. I would like to see them become a productive
part of the workforce when they graduate from high school
or college.
Read what you can do to change the laws on health care
standards and have a choice in the type of health care you
need to prevent RSI disorders. CITIZENS FOR HEALTH - ACTION
ALERT!!!!!!
STATISTICS
FROM 1997 TO 2000
**The
following sources are compiled from the Bureau of Labor and
Statistics and the National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health-NIOSH.**
Carpal tunnel syndrome results in the highest number of days lost
among all work related injuries. Almost half of the carpal tunnel
cases result in 31 days or more of work loss.-National Center for Health Statistics.
- A report by NIOSH revealed that more than 50% of all food cashiers,
(jobs predominantly held by women), suffered some degree of carpal tunnel syndrome and other forms of repetitive strain injuries as a
result of the physical demands of scanning products at high speed.
- The U.S. Department of Labor has concluded that Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the "chief occupational hazard of the 90's"-disabling
workers in epidemic proportions.
- Currently, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome affects over 8-million Americans.
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the #1 reported medical problem, accounting
for about 50% of all work-related injuries
- Presently, 25% of all computer operators have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome,
with estimates that by the year 2000, 50% of the entire workforce may be affected.
- Only 23% of all Carpal Tunnel Syndrome patients were able to return
to their previous professions following surgery.
- Up to 36% of all Carpal Tunnel Syndrome patients require unlimited
medical treatment.
- Women are twice as likely to develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrome as opposed to their male counterparts.
- While women account for about 45% of all workers, they experience nearly 2/3's of all work-related Repetitive Strain Injuries.
- Surgery for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the second most common type of
surgery, with well over 230,000 procedures performed annually. In 1992,
ergonomic disorders accounted for 56% of the illnesses reported to the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This is double 1984
levels.
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