Preventing Back Injuries

In 2019, sprains, strains, tears and soreness of the back accounted for approximately 16% of all lost-time illnesses and injuries. Of the types of back injuries, muscle strains are the least serious but most common source of back pain, resulting from stretched or torn muscles. When a person does a sudden or unfamiliar movement, the muscles are more likely to suffer damage than ligaments or tendons. Straining becomes even more likely if the muscle lacks strength, is tight and tense, or is fatigued from repetitive motion or from holding a position too long, such as sitting all day. Tendons are tissues that connect muscle to bone. Twisting or pulling these tissues can also cause a strain. Strains can happen suddenly or develop over time.

Sprains are typically more serious than strains. They occur when ligaments, the tissues that connect bones at a joint, become stretched or torn. Falling, twisting or getting hit can all cause a sprain. Symptoms include pain, swelling, bruising, and being unable to move the joint. Sprains typically happen suddenly; the injured person might feel a pop or tear when the strain occurs. At first, treatment of both sprains and strains usually involves resting the injured area, icing it, wearing a bandage or device that compresses the area, and medicines. Later treatment might include exercise and physical therapy.

Disk injuries are among the most serious and painful of back injuries. The disks that serve as cushions between the vertebrae can slip or even rupture, irritating nearby nerves. Treatments include rest, pain and anti-inflammatory medicines, physical therapy and sometimes surgery.

Preventing Back Injuries

Back injuries are painful, disruptive to work and life and can lead to costly surgery. Employers should try to avoid back injuries whenever possible. Strategies include:

1. Examine ergonomic factors. If back injuries occur frequently at your workplace, maybe it’s time look at ergonomics, or the science of fitting a job to a person, rather than the other way around. Ergonomics helps lessen muscle fatigue, increases productivity and reduces the number and severity of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. It involves looking at the entire job environment, particularly the interaction of human body and equipment used to perform a job’s essential tasks. Sometimes simple ergonomic improvements, such as adjusting a workstation’s height, can yield dramatic results. At other times, avoiding injuries will require a dramatic redesign of a workspace, equipment or task. An ergonomist or industrial hygienist can help you look at problem areas in your workplace.

2. Reconsider back braces. If your workers rely on back braces when lifting, you might want to consult with a physician who specializes in occupational injuries or a physical therapist. Some studies have found that back braces do not prevent injury and may in fact contribute to injuries, by giving workers wearing them a false sense of security.

3. Conduct training. You’ve no doubt heard it before, but there are proper and improper ways to lift. Monitor your employees whose jobs require lifting and provide regular refresher trainings.

4. Promote fitness. Strengthening the muscles of the abdomen, back and thighs can help prevent back injuries by providing better support to the spine. Overweight and sedentary people have a higher risk of back injury than their fitter counterparts. Fitter employees will not only cost you less in group medical expenses, they could also cost you less in workers’ compensation payments.

We can help you evaluate your injury claims and suggest ways to minimize future claims. For more information or help, contact the Insurance professionals of EPIC’s CRA ProRental™ Insurance Program. Call us at: 800.234.6363.