Preventing Musculoskeletal Injuries

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Musculoskeletal or MSI's are chronic injuries that involve injury to the muscles tendons, ligaments, nerves, blood vessels (soft tissue injuries). You may have also heard them referred to as sprains, strains, overexertion, soft tissue, or repetitive strain injuries.

Who cares?

Well MSIs are very common across all industries in BC and are about 60 per cent of all lost time injures and 1/3 of WSBC claims. They are so common in fact, that WSBC recently updated their regulations to include MSI prevention.

The challenge

MSI’s are very vague and can be a gradual progression, not instantaneous. MSI’s are often not even associated with a specific injury event or a mechanism of injury so they are very difficult to navigate with after care and WCB claims. MSI’s hazards are a part of everyday life not just hazards that exist at work.

Its not as simple as that hammer fell off that mobile elevated work platform and hit me in the head, now I need stiches. An MSI is more like I’ve been pulling cable for 2 days straight and now my wrist is aching and swollen.

The physical risk factors include:

• Body force – lifting, lowering, carrying, pushing, pulling, grip force

• Repetition – doing a task that uses the same muscles over and over with little chance for

• rest or recovery, both large and small muscles.

• Awkward body posture / ergonomics – hands above the head, hands below the knees,

• kneeling or squatting, leaning sideways, twisting, etc.

• Local contact stress – occurs when hard or sharp objects come into contact with the skin.

• The nerves and tissues beneath the skin can be injured by the pressure. Ridges or hard

• edges on tool handles digging into your hand, edges of work surface digging into your

• forearm or wrist, kneeling on hard surfaces.

What are work tasks we perform on a day to day basis involve the mentioned risk factors - lifting, reaching, and repetition?

Examples of MSI’s in the construction industry and possible causes:

• Tendonitis: Inflamed tendons causing pain and difficulty moving (ex. Swinging a hammer)
• Trigger Finger: Difficulty moving index finger, the finder can become “stuck” in a bent position
• (ex. Squeezing a nail gun trigger)
• Carpal tunnel syndrome: pain in wrists, numbness, and loss of strength in hands from exposure
• to vibration or pressure (operating pin pounder or even typing)
• Bursitis: inflammation of the joints, commonly hip or knee, when fluid-filled sacs become
• inflamed (ex. Kneeling while installing rebar/formwork)
• Radiculopathy: pain from a collapsed spinal disc that causes pain to radiate to other body parts.
• (ex. Lifting heavy objects (anchors & hoses) with incorrect posture or without help)

Preventing MSI’s

• Get closer to your work

• Use tools to extend your reach

• Change position or orientation of the work

• Improve your sight lines, improve lighting

• Improve design

• And most importantly Stretch and Flex!