Shoulder the Responsibility for Preventing Shoulder Injuries

Shoulders are all too easily injured. And once they are, recovery might be slow, putting a worker out of action and creating production hassles. Here are some tips for preventing these injuries.

The shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint and is, in fact, the most mobile joint in the body, allowing 230 degrees of motion vertically and enabling us to reach out to either side or across the body in front.

If any of your workers have to reach, lift and carry, bend, or twist their bodies or perform other activities that place them in a nonneutral posture, they may be at risk for shoulder injuries.

Once you identify shoulder injury risk factors in your workplace, take these steps to prevent problems: 

• Minimize lifting. Provide mechanical assists, such as carts, slings, dollies, and jacks, to raise objects and hold them in place. Put materials as close to the area where they will be used as practical. For example, rather than piling roofing materials in a single spot, place them in different areas across the roof. 
• Lighten the load. When lifting cannot be eliminated, or when objects (such as tools) must be held at arm's length, ensure that the items being lifted are as light as possible. For example, a corded electric drill might be lighter than a battery drill. In some cases, lighter-weight building materials may be practical in construction. For heavy objects, a team lift can reduce the strain on individual workers. 
• Control motion. One of the most dangerous situations is a "save"—when a load shifts, or in a healthcare setting when a patient slips, and a worker attempts to prevent a fall. Minimizing the possibility of shifting or falling loads can help prevent these situations. For example, securing a load or using a jack or brace that holds a work piece in place may prevent not just shoulder injuries but crushing accidents as well. In a healthcare setting, using a patient-lifting device that secures the patient with a belt or sling before moving can save the patient from a fall and ensure that the healthcare worker doesn't have to risk a shoulder injury. 
• Improve the grip. Lifting requires more force, and is more difficult (and more likely to cause injury) when there's no easy way to grip an object—for example, drywall panels. Removable suction handles can be applied to flat surfaces in some cases. In a healthcare facility, gait belts and other devices can give healthcare workers an easy spot for holding unstable patients. 
• Encourage rest and stretching. Workers can minimize damage from lifting, overhead and arm's length work, and other jobs that put stress on the shoulder joints by taking frequent very short breaks (15-20 seconds) and gently stretching to relieve tension in shoulder muscles and ligaments. 

-- Safety Daily Advisor - blr-news.com