If you’d like to get these links (and more) during the week, follow @ErgoPlus on Twitter.

Health and Safety Links

Managing Safety: Uncle Bill, the Safety Guy
EHS Today

In organizations with excellent safety performance, the safety professional is a close family member who is a valued part of the mainstream goals and activities …

Step 1 of a Safety Excellence Strategy
ProAct Safety

Most workers I have interviewed over the years are clear on the organization’s strategies for basic safety. But that doesn’t mean the company has a well-defined safety strategy …

Employee Health: How to Increase Fruit and Veggie Consumption
NIFS

You probably know that eating fruits and vegetables is part of a healthy lifestyle, but did you know that eating sufficient amounts of fruits and vegetables can reduce your risk for heart disease, certain cancers, and type-2 diabetes? …

Media

From the Ergonomics Plus blog

From the Ergonomics Plus blog this week: Injury Prevention Tip – Wrist Injury Prevention

Each day we use the muscles and tendons in the wrist and hand to perform various upper extremity tasks. The physical stress and strain to these muscles and tendons can produce microscopic wear and fatigue to these tendons and muscles.

As long as the amount of fatigue is lower than the body’s ability to recover, the soft tissues in the wrist will remain healthy.

But too much strain and fatigue, coupled with too little repair, can lead to an inflammation. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a nerve compression disorder caused by inflammation of the soft tissues that past through the carpal tunnel in the wrist.

Lifestyle Causes of Musculoskeletal Disorders

Preventing musculoskeletal disorders happens both at work and at home. Employees must take responsibility and do their part.

Healthier, more active employees are at greatly reduced risk for developing MSDs. Here are some of the poor health habits that put your employees at risk:

If you’d like to get these links (and more) during the week, follow @ErgoPlus on Twitter here.

Health and Safety Links

4 Key Actions to Prevent OSHA Citations
Safety BLR 

In a BLR webinar titled “OSHA’s Top 10: How To Stay Off This Infamous List in 2012,” Tiffani Hiudt Casey outlined 4 key actions you can take to prepare your organization, make it a safer place, and help to prevent citations in the event of an OSHA inspection …

Death on the Job: 13 Occupational Fatalities Occurred Daily in 2010
EHS Today

AFL-CIO’s newly released “Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect” report reveals that an average of 13 occupational fatalities occurred every day in 2010 …

Holding Steady on US Obesity Rate Could Save $550 Billion, report finds
MSN Health

Cut the growth in rates of obesity by just 1 percent a year over the next two decades, and you’ll slice health care costs by $85 billion …

Media

Via: Runreviews.com A treadmill reviews site.

From the Ergonomics Plus blog

From the Ergonomics Plus blog this week – Injury Prevention Tip: Prevent Elbow Injuries

The medical terms typically used for these disorders are lateral and medial epicondylitis respectively.

Each day we use the muscles and tendons that originate at the elbow to perform various upper extremity tasks. The physical stress and strain to the elbow muscles and tendons can produce microscopic wear and fatigue to these tendons and muscles.  This is completely normal.

As long as the amount of fatigue is lower than the body’s ability to recover, the elbow soft tissues will remain healthy.

But too much strain and fatigue, coupled with too little repair , can lead to an inflammation disorder of the elbow. 

Lifestyle Causes of Musculoskeletal Disorders

Preventing musculoskeletal disorders happens both at work and at home. Employees must take responsibility and do their part.

Healthier, more active employees are at greatly reduced risk for developing MSDs. Here are some of the poor health habits that put your employees at risk:

If you’d like to get these links (and more) during the week, follow @ErgoPlus on Twitter here.

Health and Safety Links

Profits, Not Compliance, Will Drive Ergonomics
ErgoWeb

As the political battle over occupational ergonomics begins to heat up yet again, it’s important to recognize that ergonomics is a ripe business improvement opportunity, not just another compliance worry …

Celebrating Occupational Safety and Health Professional Day, May 9th
EHS Today

In an effort to recognize the ongoing efforts of occupational safety, health and environmental professionals who dedicate their careers to making sure that every employee leaves work injury and illness free to return home safety to their family, the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) will celebrate Occupational Safety and Health Professional (OSHP) Day on May 9 …

The Power of Employee Engagement
Corporate Wellness Insights

Several articles have come to my attention lately touching on the subtle (and yet oh-so-critical) difference between employee participation and employee engagement within the context of corporate wellness programs …

 Media

Infographic by Anytime Fitness

From the Ergonomics Plus blog

From the Ergonomics Plus blog this week – Why Pre Shift Stretching Programs Work

Pre shift stretching programs

Effective programs reduce the risk of sprains, strains and numerous other injuries to the musculoskeletal system.

You might not think sprains and strains sound all that serious, but on-the-ball safety managers know that soft tissue injuries account for the majority of workplace injuries and cost their company a ton of money, not to mention the needless pain and suffering of the employees under their watch.

Pre Shift Stretching is Only One Piece of the Injury Prevention Puzzle

It should be noted that pre shift stretching is only one piece of the puzzle. If you’ve been reading our blog for any amount of time, you know the importance of a comprehensive approach to injury prevention.

A strong ergonomics program, excellent employee training, and an early intervention strategy make pre shift stretching even more effective. (More on comprehensive injury prevention.)

Pre shift stretching alone will not be a complete solution for musculoskeletal injury prevention, but it will go a long way in reducing risk of injury and improving safety culture.

So Why Does Pre Shift Stretching Work?

Strategies to prevent musculoskeletal injuries should work to decrease fatigue and increase recovery of the body’s musculoskeletal system.

Pre shift stretching reduces the risk of musculoskeletal injuries by reducing fatigue, improving muscular balance and posture, and improving muscle coordination.

Stretching Reduces Fatigue

• Stretching increases blood supply and nutrients to joint structures.
• Stretching increases soft tissue temperature and allows for greater elasticity of tissues.
• Stretching increases joint synovial fluid (lubricant for bones and articular cartilage) that allows greater range of motion and reduces joint degeneration.
• Stretching increases a joint’s ability to move through a greater range of motion with less energy required to do so.
• Stretching decreases resistance in tendons and muscles.

Stretching Improves Muscular Balance and Posture

• Soft tissue structures often adapted poorly to effects of gravity and poor postural habits.
• Stretching realigns soft tissue structures, thus reducing effort to achieve & maintain good posture in activities of daily living.

Stretching Improves Muscle Coordination

• Stretching enhances nerve impulse velocity (the time it takes an impulse to travel to the brain and back to the muscle).
• Stretching helps opposing muscle groups work in a more coordinated fashion.

Takeaway

Pre-shift stretching is all about taking a proactive approach to health and safety, and is most effective as part of a comprehensive injury prevention strategy.