IP : Back Injury Prevention

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Chapter : Injury Prevention

BACK INJURY PREVENTION

Back injuries are some of the most frequent and hardest-to-prevent injuries on the job. 

As per an analysis more than one million workers suffer back injuries each year, and back injuries account for one of every five workplace injuries or illnesses.

Lifting is part of everyday life and part of everyone's job to some degree. Back injuries are common at work and can be very debilitating. But they can be easily prevented by following some best practices in body mechanics, material handling, load planning, work-space organization and worker rotation

There are many injuries on the job caused by individuals moving objects by hand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that strains and sprains are the most prevalent type of injury on the job. While these types of injuries can be hard to prevent it is possible through taking the right steps. Many injuries are suffered due to individuals who are willing to take risks while completing lifts.

Types of Injuries Sustained While Completing Lifts

• Strains
• Sprains
• Repetitive motion injuries
• Pinch point injuries
• Struck-by injuries
• Slips, trips, falls

These types of injuries account for a large majority of worker’s compensation claims every year.

Back injuries often occur when:

• An individual is lifting up an object.
• Using improper lifting techniques such as lifting with the back and not the legs.
• Lifting an object that is too heavy for the individual.
• Twisting while lifting or carrying objects.
• Repetitive lifting during a work task.

Create awareness about safe lifting techniques. Use our safe lifting resources to fix wrong behaviors and train employees about proper body mechanics when bending and lifting.

Educate your supervisors

Advice is followed most when it comes from the top. Supervisors play a huge role in demonstrating, training and setting expectations for employees on proper lifting techniques. They are also key in watching for potential risks and working to reduce them. Use our supervisor tools to get your supervisors up to speed.

Help employees plan their lifts

Tell your employees to avoid lifting when possible. If they have to lift, explain the proper way to lift using our four-step approach:

• Keep your head up
• Keep the load close
• Use a staggered stance
• Don't twist

How to Prevent Back Injuries

Eliminate–  Best way to protect individuals against back injuries is to eliminate as many lifts as possible during the workday. Using equipment such as forklifts, heavy equipment, dollies, etc. is the best way to eliminate handling and lifting objects by hand. Break down large or heavy objects that pose a hazard when lifting into smaller safer loads when possible.

Engineering Controls– Set up work areas that are ergonomically friendly to all employees. Install mechanical lifting devices and conveyor belts where feasible to limit handling objects. Install proper shelving and set up storage areas that keep objects and lifts within an optimal range. Keeping objects within the proper range helps keep employees from making awkward or dangerous lifts that can result in a sprain.

Administrative Controls– Use the buddy system when lifting any awkward or heavy objects. Agree on weight limits for lifting. For example, having a policy to not lift anything over 100lbs as a team without first involving a supervisor to see if there is a safer way to complete the lift is an example of an administrative control. Also, always select employees who are physically capable of making the lifts of a task before the work begins.

Personal protective equipment- Such as back supports or back belts have not shown to be overly effective in preventing back injuries. These devices often create a false sense of security when completing lifts. Individuals should focus on stretching and using proper lifting techniques over using a back belt to keep them safe.

Manual Handling Injury Prevention

Most of you have probably heard that in order to lift safely, you must lift properly. You're told to "bend your knees not your back," and "don't twist as you lift." This is good advice but sometimes seems to go against human nature. Yet, there are actions you can take to help you lift properly

1. Get as close to the load as possible. The further the load is from the center line of your body, the greater the strain imposed on your back. If need be, squat down to lift the load and pull it between your legs. This gets it closer to the center of your body and helps prevent the need to bend at the waist. However, since your leg muscles are the largest muscles in your body, they are the biggest energy consumers. Repeated squatting can be very fatiguing, and reduces a person's ability to lift in this manner for any length of time. In addition to lifting the load, you are also hoisting the majority of your body weight. For repeated lifting, other strategies must be used.

2. Avoid picking up heavy objects placed below your knees. Try to see that heavy objects are placed and stored above knee level and below shoulder level. If you suspect the load is too heavy to be lifted comfortably, do not chance it. Use a mechanical aid, break the load down into its component parts, or get help. The most common cause of back injury is overloading.

3. Keep your back straight. This means don't bend at the waist when reaching to lift an object. Keep the natural arch in your lower back, which distributes the load evenly over the surface of spinal disks, and is less stressful than if the disk is pinched between vertebras. Bending principally from the hips is acceptable if you maintain the arch in your back, rather than bending at the waist.

4. Glue your hand to your thigh. If you carry a load in one hand, such as when carrying a tool box, place your free hand on the outside of your thigh and mentally "glue" it into position. This will help you maintain correct back alignment rather than lifting and tilting to one side. When carrying a heavy load, side bending can be just as stressful to the spine as bending forward.

5. Tighten your stomach muscles. This technique helps prevent your spine from twisting. If you lift a load and need to place it off to one side, turn by moving your feet. After repeated lifts you might find yourself getting a bit sloppy and forgetting to move your feet. You can overcome this tendency if the place you set the load down is at least one step away from where it is lifted. If you wear a back support belt, wear it low on your trunk and loosen it when you are not lifting.

6. Stay in good physical condition. A protruding stomach is an extra load carried away from the center line of the body, and prevents you from keeping a lifted object close-the number one rule for back care. When you bend at the waist to lift, due to the leverage principal, the load is up to 10 times heavier than its actual weight. A "pot belly" puts extra, stressful weight on the spine.

7. Stretch and loosen up before work. Research has shown that trunk flexibility and mobility is significantly lower in the morning than later in the day, increasing the number and severity of back strains at this time. A few minutes of stretching can warm up cold stiff muscles and tendons and help you avoid an injury. All professional athletes know this-"industrial athletes" should too!

Best Practices for Manual Handling

The single best protection you can take from getting an injury while completing a lift is to eliminate lifting by hand! Elimination should always be the first consideration while discussing mitigating hazards on the job. Much of the manual handling on the job can be completely eliminated through proper planning, engineering controls, or use a piece of equipment to complete the lift. When setting up any job area or placing an object down, the next person who has to move the object should be thought of. If the object is awkward or heavy and there is no room for a piece of equipment to be able to lift it then someone will have to end up handling the object again. These situations can lead to injury. Properly plan out work tasks so that objects do not need to be repeatedly lifted and moved. Each time a lift is made there is chance for injury.

A best practice is to establish a weight limit of what one person or a team of people are allowed to lift and carry on a work site. Consider a cut-off weight before mechanical means need to be used to lift the object. For example some companies have the policy that no single person can lift an object heavier than 50lbs and a team of people cannot lift anything over 100lbs. While you may be able to handle these weights, it is good to have an established point where manual handling is no longer an option.

Summary

Injuries due to manual handling can be hard to prevent, that is why eliminating as many of these lifts as possible is important. Plan out your work tasks and your work areas to reduce the chance of manual handling injuries. It is important to know your limits and not to exceed them. Even if you are strong it is easy to injure back muscles due to lifting awkward or heavy objects.