According to various surveys and statistics, overexertion incidents have consistently been the Number One cause of workplace injuries.

 

Nationally, overexertion incidents are not only the most common cause of injury, they're also the most expensive.  The 2008 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index estimates $12.4 billion in direct costs, comprising 25.7% of all workers' comp claims costs nationwide. Overexertion incidents have been the leading cause of injury for state agencies the past five years and account for  $3.4 million in benefit costs annually. 

 

The City and County of Denver aligns with these statistics. From 2004 through 2009, overexertion was identified as the leading cause of workplace injuries: approximately 30%. Of those overexertion incidents, holding,  carrying and lifting were the primary activities.  

 

Why Overexertion Occurs

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), workplace overexertion is an event or an exposure that leads to an injury due to excessive physical effort, such as lifting, pulling, pushing, and turning, wielding, holding, carrying or throwing. Because each person has a different point at which overexertion occurs, determining what constitutes excessive physical effort for each worker is difficult.

 

An overexertion injury happens when  workers become fatigued or performs a job where the human body's capacity to complete the task was not sufficiently considered. Both can cause a mismatch between the physical capacity of workers and the physical demands of their jobs. 

 

Workers also may become overexerted when performing jobs for which they are not properly trained. For example, a worker who is asked to help with an unfamiliar job tries to pick up a 100-pound bag of fertilizer and injures his back. An investigation may reveal that the worker did not have the proper training which would have instructed him to make several lifts of less weight or to ask for help from a co-worker.  In addition, workers often overestimate how much they can lift.

 

Workers can take steps to reduce the occurrence of overexertion injuries. These steps include exercise and proper work techniques. 

 

Exercise can be as simple as warming up to increase the blood flow and to prepare the body for vigorous work. After warm up, stretching exercises aid in loosening muscles. For proper body mechanics when lifting, bend the knees, keep the back bowed in, align the vertebrae vertically, hold up the chin and keep the feet on a diagonal.  

When lifting, do the following:  

 

 

Whether at home or at work, before you lift – THINK: what is the best way to complete this task?   

 

Sharon Bankes Safety and Industrial Hygiene Administrator Risk Management / Safety Unit  

 

Resource(s) – Liberty Mutual, BLS and National Safety Council