Lifting injuries

Negative findings of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) concerning the use of employee selection techniques and training to prevent manual lifting injuries have not been disputed. They are reported in the book Work Practices for Manual Lifting. These are some of the findings ... 

Certain hazards—chemical exposure, fire, and explosion—associated with the volatile products involved in offshore oil and gas work are less likely with offshore wind. And, because the number of people on a wind turbine at any one time is much smaller than on a drilling platform, the likelihood of a worker being exposed to these hazards is smaller. Common hazards for the oil and gas industry may include falls (particularly down stairs) injuries from cranes and heavy lifts injuries from being struck by objects and musculoskeletal injuries from lifting, which may occur less frequently on wind turbines but have similar consequences. Other typical worker injuries including slips and trips and exposure to the weather elements may occur with a similar frequency, but the overall risk of a catastrophic event on an oil and gas platform is higher than what can be expected on a wind farm. For wind farms, the likelihood of a catastrophic event is lower with respect to personnel and environmental... 

Handholds are important to reduce lifting injuries. Boxes with cutouts for fingers make handling the boxes easier and more secure. Plastic bags for bulk materials with handles or cutouts for hands simplify lifting and carrying. 

For the activity in Exercise 2, is the activity acceptable or are controls needed to prevent lifting injuries If controls are needed, what kind would you recommend ... 

When workers ignore the basics of safe lifting, injuries to the lower back can occur. 

Is the employee required to make movements that eould lead to or eause hand or foot injuries, strain from lifting, or repetitive motion injuries ... 

The successes of the traditional approach have largely been obtained in the area of occupational safety, where statistical evidence is readily available concerning the incidence of injuries to individuals in areas such as tripping and falling accidents. Such accidents are amenable to behavior modification approaches because the behaviors that give rise to the accident are under the direct control of the individual and are easily predictable. In addition, the nature of the hazard is also usually predictable and hence the behavior required to avoid accidents can be specified explicitly. For example, entry to enclosed spaces, breaking-open process lines, and lifting heavy objects are known to be potentially hazardous activities for which safe methods of work... 

Two lost time injuries were incurred at the Wyoming Bay facility when a stack of palletized valves in a warehouse were knocked over by a forK-lift truck. 

Whenever possible, lifting of excessive weights should be by mechanical means and should only be done manually if there is no practicable method of obtaining access for mechanical equipment. It follows that material must only be moved manually if it is within the capability of the persons involved and that there is no risk of injury. 

Correct manual lifting and handling of material prevents strains and injury and also reduces the effort required. Persistently incorrect lifting and handling may lead to the person suffering from permanent back strain or other health problems. Points to consider when preparing to lift material are ... 

The patient usually notes Ul during activities like exercise, running, lifting, coughing, or sneezing. This type of Ul is much more common in females (seen only in males with lower urinary tract surgery or injury compromising the sphincter). 

Nerve injury, followed by pain related behaviour, is induced by loose ligation of the ischiatic nerve of one hind paw of the rat. 3-4 weeks after ligation, neuropathic pain-like behaviour is seen as increased sensitivity towards heat and pressure stimuli (hyperalgesia). Also pain reactions toward non-noxious tactile (mechanical allodynia) or cold stimuli (cold allodynia) can be observed. Mechanical allodynia is tested with von Frey hairs and cold allodynia by putting the animals on metal plate cooled to 4 °C. The number of paw liftings is counted (Bennett and Xie, Pain 1988, 33, 87-107). 

Before lifting anything, warm up for about 10 minutes with light exercise. This increases blood circulation and warms your muscles. Afterward, spend another 10 minutes stretching to prevent muscle stiffness and soreness. These activities help prevent injuries. 

For jobs with high numbers of nonfatal injuries and illnesses, overexertion is the leading event. These injuries result from lifting objects or, in the case of nursing aides and order-ties, patients. Injuries from overexertion accounted for about one third of all the nonfatal injuries in 1994 it took a median of five days for those injured to recuperate. 

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