Thousands of people suffer work-related injuries on the job every day. We spend a third or more of our days at work, so it makes sense that any given workplace has experienced some sort of injured employee. Our friendly team of auto and work injury specialists treat all types of work injuries, including fractures, crush injuries, and even whiplash from auto accidents in company cars. We’ll be here for you when you need us, but hopefully these work injury prevention tips will help keep you safe.
- Overexertion: Any manual laborer whose job involves some sort of pushing, pulling, or lifting is at risk for overexertion injury due to the nature of the trade. Even in an office where you’re responsible for retrieving any type of heavy object such as a box of paper reams, you are at risk the moment you reach for the item if you’re not using proper form. Prevention Tip: When lifting heavy objects, always make sure to have your legs spread shoulder-width apart and bend at the knees rather than the waist to lift. This prevents putting too much strain on your joints and back.
- Slipping or Tripping: No matter where you work, there’s always a chance of slipping on wet surfaces or tripping over something left on the floor. These types of injuries can cause a lot of damage to one’s hip or pelvis depending on what hits the floor first. Prevention Tips: Regular floor cleaning is important but utilizing and paying attention to wet floor signs is essential to preventing falls onto a hard floor. Keep an eye out for obstacles out of place, not only for your own safety but also to report when you see something that looks unsafe for others too. It takes a village to keep the workplace safe.
- Reaction injuries. These occur when you are about to slip or trip, but you catch yourself before falling. Your body’s ability to react quickly to save you is incredible, since it will move in an instant before your brain has fully processed the situation. When this happens, your body may sustain injury depending on the force of the automatic correction and your own body’s durability. Prevention Tip: It may sound odd, but learning how to fall properly if you are at a high risk of falls on the job can help you avoid reaction injuries. An occupational therapist can teach you how to prevent these types of injuries.
If you perform manual labor, you have most likely received extensive training on how to stay safe in the workplace. If you work in sales, retail, or in an office workplace you may not have, but that doesn’t mean you’re not at risk. Staying focused and paying attention to your surroundings at all times will help to prevent these types of injuries. And always follow safety guidelines given by your employer, such as wearing proper gear and correctly operating machinery.
If you’ve suffered a work-related injury and need medical help, no appointment is necessary, just walk in today or call us at 210-342-2777 for more information.
