Avoid Injuries at Work

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How to Avoid the Most Common Work Related Injuries

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Work related injuries happen far too frequently. The impact of an injury for an employee, their family, their team members and their employer can be significant. It’s not uncommon for recovery and rehabilitation to take weeks, sometimes even months. And for some, a lifetime of reduced mobility, impaired productivity and pain is the price paid for working in an un-safe or un-ergonomic manner.

For the employer the cost is also significant. Losing a skilled and experienced employee disrupts the workplace and reduces productivity. The phrase, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is right on target when it comes to preventing work related injuries.

An Occupational Therapist can be your ounce of prevention by:

identifying potential problems in how employees are using and positioning their hands, back, legs or body as they work and
assessing the risk for repetitive strain injuries

Smart business owners and employers rely on Occupational Therapists to assess the work environment and develop proactive solutions that prevent injuries from happening. The minor cost incurred in an ounce of prevention, can save the pound of cure be it hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands and in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars in work related injury expenses. An injury can happen in an instant, or through repetitive motion, become more debilitating with time. For a worker with a disability, or requiring a return to work after a workplace injury, Occupational Therapists are specialists in selecting adaptive equipment or adjusting methods to be used with job tasks or actions.

The tips that follow may seem simple, even elementary. The reason they are included is that ignoring safe work practices can result in injury.

Sincerely,

Christel Seeberger
BSc.O.T., OT(c), OTR, OTReg.(NB)