What is the Best Way to Prevent Musculoskeletal Disorders?

Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) are a common and costly problem for companies across the United States.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), MSDs accounted for 28.8% of lost-time injuries in 2010 and the average MSD costs just under $15,000 each.

Way too many employees across the U.S. suffer the pain and loss of function associated with an MSD.

The answer to the MSD problem is prevention.

The question then becomes this: What is the best way to prevent musculoskeletal disorders?

Should you conduct ergonomic assessments to identify MSD risk factors?
Should you implement a pre-shift stretching program?
Should you provide education/training on proper body mechanics and lifting techniques?
Should you encourage early reporting of fatigue and discomfort to proactively prevent the fatigue and discomfort from developing into an injury? (This is called early intervention.)

The list could go on and on, and these are only a few of the options available to you.

Here’s the bottom line.

The most effective way to prevent MSDs is to execute on a smart MSD prevention process that is comprehensive in nature, seeks out and removes all risk factors contributing to MSDs and is integrated deeply into your company’s OHS processes.

The result of this process is a culture of prevention, improved health and safety metrics and a more profitable business.

Sound good?

Let’s talk about how you can make it happen.

A Comprehensive Process to Prevent Musculoskeletal Disorders

Musculoskeletal Disorders form over the course of time when a worker’s musculoskeletal fatigue outruns their bodies’ recovery system due to exposure to a number of MSD risk factors. This creates a muscle imbalance that eventually develops into an MSD.

This is pictured below:

The best way to prevent MSDs is to identify and remove these risk factors. This requires a comprehensive MSD prevention process.

What does a comprehensive process look like?

Here is a 3-part MSD prevention strategy to get your process off to a good start.

Strategy #1 – Ergonomics

A strong workplace ergonomics process will match the work to the capabilities and limitations of the worker in the most efficient and productive way possible.

The ergonomics improvement process reduces ergonomic risk factors such as high task repetition, forceful exertions and repetitive/sustained awkward postures.

(For more, read: Workplace Ergonomics 101 – A Safety Manager’s Guide to Ergonomics at Work)

Strategy #2 – Education and training

Everyone at your facility has a role to play in the success of the ergonomics and MSD prevention process.

Managers, supervisors, engineers and all employees at your company need to have the tools and information they need to be successful in their role. Training ensures everyone understand their role and is properly equipped to follow through.

(For more, read: Building a Partnership for Prevention)

Strategy #3 – Early intervention

Early intervention is a proactive strategy to find early signs of an injury and prevent it from happening.

To effectively prevent MSDs, you want to identify MSD risk factors as soon as possible so you can remove them. This is what early intervention is all about.

When risk factors are causing an employee to experience the early signs of an MSD (fatigue, discomfort, pain), you want to know about it as early as possible so you can remove the risk factors and help the employee return to 100% health with a proactive self-care program.

The best way to do this is through an experienced injury prevention specialist who makes weekly visits to your facility to conduct early intervention consultations.

(For more, read: Early Intervention – What is it and why is it important?)

For the best prevention results …

Like any other process, if you take away one part it makes the rest of the parts weaker. The same is true for the MSD prevention process.

An ergonomics improvement process isn’t very effective if poorly trained people are tasked with executing it.

Education and training without an ergonomics improvement process is not very effective.

Early intervention on its own would be beneficial, but if poorly trained people are doing jobs with high ergonomic risk factors, you still have more problems than you have solutions in place.

For the best prevention results, implement a comprehensive MSD prevention process including ergonomics, education and early intervention.

This is the only way to remove all of the risk factors that contribute to MSDs.

Conclusion

Ergonomics and MSD prevention is good for your business and great for your people. A comprehensive process is necessary to identify and remove all risk factors contributing to musculoskeletal disorders.

Do you have any of the three strategies presented above in use at your facility? Let us know in the comments section below!

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