Back Injury Prevention

1. Back Injury Prevention

2. Modules • Risk Factors for Back Injuries • Basic Functions of the Back • What’s in the Back? • Back Injuries • Preventing Back Injuries • Office Ergonomics • Appendix

3. Rating the 5 Leading Back Injury Risk Factors! Risk factors: Behaviors and working conditions that lead to back injuries. Please rate the risk factors in order from 1 through 5 with 1 being the greatest risk factor and 5 being the lowest risk factor. Poor posture _ Poor physical condition _ Improper body mechanics _ Incorrect lifting _ Jobs that require high energy _

4. The Back's Basic • Functions Include: • Providing support • Protecting the spinal cord • Providing flexibility to allow bending • and rotating • When normally aligned, the back (spine) forms 3 natural curves (cervical, thoracic, lumbar). Maintaining these natural curves keeps the spine in balance.

5. What’s in the Back?

6. The Spine is in the Back • 3 natural curves • The Lumbar Spine • Spinal Segments • Vertebrae • Disk

7. 3 natural curves. . . (cervical, thoracic, lumbar)

8. What’s the Lumbar Spine? The lumbar spine is made up of the last 5 vertebrae of the spine.

9. What’s in the Lumbar Spine? The spinal segment is composed of: • Two vertebrae • Intervertebral disk between the two vertebrae • Two nerve roots that leave the spinal cord, one from each side

10. Spinal Segment

11. What’s a Vertebrae? The vertebrae are the bones of the spine. They support and protect the spinal cord.

12. What’s Between the Vertebrae? An intervertebral disk sits between each vertebra. This large round ligament connects the vertebrae together.

13. What’s in the Disk? The disk contains a material with the consistency of crabmeat. This material is responsible for the shock absorption properties of the spine.

14. What Happens to the Disk? Back pain is often a result of injury or degeneration (wear and tear) of the intervertebral disk.

15. What Does Degeneration Do? As the degeneration of the disk progresses, it becomes stiff and loses its ability to act as a shock absorber. This may continue until the disk collapses causing pain.

16. Why Does Degeneration Happen? Repeated bending and twisting can cause the disk to tear. Scar tissue, which is not as strong as normal tissue, may form during the healing process of the tear. This repeated cycle may lead to disk degeneration.

17. Back Injuries

18. Back Injuries • The Facts • Insult to Injury • Management of Injuries

19. Back InjuriesThe Facts • Many back injuries cannot be attributed to a single causal factor. • They can be the result of cumulative damage incurred over a long period of time (Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI). • Certain actions, motions, and movements are more likely to contribute to back injuries than others.

20. Back InjuriesThe Facts • Back injuries account for one of every five injuries and illnesses in the workplace. • Re-aggravation of a previous injury almost always results from a new incident which involves the employee (i.e. slip, twist, trip, extended reach).

21. Back InjuriesThe Facts • The cause of back pain in about 90% of cases is strain or sprain of back muscles, ligaments or soft tissue. These conditions generally heal completely, but often recur if prevention strategies are not used. • Back pain in the remaining 10% of cases is due to more serious conditions such as degenerative disk disease or herniated disks in the spine.

22. Back InjuriesThe Facts • One-fourthof all compensation indemnity claims involve back injuries, costing employers billions of dollars. • Hidden costs = $11.6 B in 1996; $60 B in 2004 • Eighty percent of these injuries occur to the lower back and are associated with manual materials handling tasks.

23. Back InjuriesThe Facts • Lifting-related injuries include: • Sprains • Strains • Neural related • Neuro-muscular related injuries • And/or bone related injuries • These injuries can affect any part of the body, • but the majority occur to the lower back.

24. Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI)The Facts • Approximately 450,000 people live with SCI in the US. • There are about 10,000 new SCI's every year; the majority of them (82%) involve males between the ages of 16-30. • These injuries result from motor vehicle accidents (36%), violence (28.9%), or falls (21.2%). • Quadriplegia is slightly more common than paraplegia.  

25. Other Causes of Back Injuries It is also possible to injure your back as a result of a slip or fall

26. Insult To Injury • People tend to compensate for back injuries. • People with back pain guard the injured area by using more muscles than they need to.The more muscles they use, the greater the load there is on the spine.

27. Insult To Injury • Injured people may employ muscles in their abdomen or sides or other uninjured back muscles, even though these muscles are not necessary for lifting. • People with back injuries unknowingly inflict twice as much twisting force on their spine and 1.5 times as much compressive force as uninjured people, when lifting the same object.

28. Insult To Injury • Over time, greater loads on the spine lead to more serious back injuries, such as disc degeneration, which require surgery. • In addition, lifting objects slowly, as injured people also tend to do, only intensifies the harm. Moving slowly just increases the length of time the spine has to endure those extra forces.

29. MEDICAL MANAGEMENT OF INJURIES • It is extremely important that workers receive proper medical treatment at an early stage. • Proper medical management requires that prompt and conservative treatment is provided by a medical provider familiar with back injuries.

30. ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT OF INJURIES • Jobs are redesigned to eliminate exposure to risk factors, including changes in equipment and duties. • Workers are provided with sufficient time away from work and/or are reassigned to light duty jobs with no loss of pay, benefits, or seniority.

31. Listen to your body! • Feeling discomfort or pain is an indication that something is wrong! Heed the signs! • Take more frequent "mini-breaks" before you become fatigued. • Become aware ofmounting stresses, aches and pains.

32. Preventing Back Injuries

33. Preventing Back Injuries • Risk Factors • Job Task Evaluations • Safe Lifting Procedures

34. Risk Factors

35. S T O P ! WHAT ARE THE 5 LEADING BACK INJURY RISK FACTORS? Group Discussion

36. Rating the 5 Leading Back Injury Risk Factors! Risk factors: Behaviors and working conditions that lead to back injuries. Please rate the risk factors in order 1 through 5 with 1 being the greatest risk factor and 5 being the lowest risk factor. Poor posture _ Poor physical condition _ Improper body mechanics _ Incorrect lifting _ Jobs requiring high energy _

37. Risk FactorPoor Posture When your mother told you to sit and stand up straight, she was giving you good advice. It is best to try to maintain the back in its natural "S" shaped curve. You want to avoid leaning forward (unsupported) when you sit, or hunching over while you're standing.

38. Posture • Stretch often! Shift positions! • Change (shift) your posture often. • Stretch frequently throughout the day.

39. Posture • Practice good posture. Don't force your body to conform to its workspace. Habitually poor posture will cause increased aches and pains. • Keep your body flexible (not rigid or fixed); static posture becomes uncomfortable and decreases productivity.

40. Posture • Take note of your posture! • Our bodies are designed to move, bend and flex - and our posture changes to fit the task. Static posture leads to discomfort and lower productivity. Be aware of your posture while working.

41. Risk FactorPoor Physical Condition Your stomach muscles provide a lot of the support needed by your back. If you have weak, flabby stomach muscles, your back may not get all the support it needs, especially when you're lifting or carrying heavy objects. Good physical condition in general is important for preventing strains, sprains, and other injuries.

42. Exercise! Exercise regularly - every other day. Warm up slowly . . . A brisk walk is a good way to warm up. Inhale deeply before each repetition of an exercise and exhale when performing each repetition.

43. Exercise Helps Here are the facts: Most adults don't get enough physical activity. Lack of physical activity and poor diet combined are the second largest underlying causes of death in the United States (after smoking).

44. Exercise Helps Here are the facts: • Exercise can help people feel better and enjoy life more, even those who think they're too old or out of shape.

45. Risk FactorImproper Body Mechanics To demonstrate this, think of your back as a lever. With the fulcrum in the center of the lever, how many pounds would it take to lift a ten pound object? A. 5 pounds B. 10 pounds C. 15 pounds

46. Improper Body Mechanics When you add in the 105 pounds of the average human upper torso, you see that lifting a ten pound object actually puts 1,150 pounds of pressure on the lower back.

47. Worker twisting in an awkward posture

48. Twisting at the Waist Twisting at the waist while lifting or holding a heavy load. (For example, this frequently happens when using a shovel.)

49. Awkward Positions Working in awkward, uncomfortable positions such as kneeling or working at tasks which require you to bend over for long periods of time

50. Awkward Positions