Work and Shoulder Problems: Why the Shoulders Are at Risk of Injury on the Job

Depending on the job, every part of the body is at risk for work-related injury and dysfunction. Occupations that involve manual material handling and other physical labor obviously pose more risk to body damage than do desk jobs. However, when it comes to the neck and shoulder, whose functions are integrated into almost every work activity, the pool of jobs that can bring about pain is very large. Looking at the shoulder specifically, it can be difficult to connect pain to work tasks. The shoulder works so closely with the neck and arms that problems in the shoulders can show up as pain elsewhere. Since the shoulder is taxed during daily activities outside of work, it can be hard to miss the relationship between pain caused by the shoulder and work tasks. Extensive research has shown, however, that in cases of chronic pain and pain that limits activity, the relationship between work activity and shoulder symptoms are too strong to ignore. The shoulder is a versatile and complex joint that is easily affected by several activities. 

The shoulder is comprised of 4 separate boney and musculotendinous joints and has the greatest range of motion of all other joints in the body. Muscles acting on the shoulder go far beyond the rotator cuff muscles everyone is familiar with. In addition to moving the shoulder, muscles can be taxed by stabilizing the shoulder. Shoulder stabilization is necessary in a number of activities that can also include neck, arm, and back movement. The complexity of the shoulder joint and its relationship to the rest of the body can create some very frustrating diagnosis issues. Just as problems in the neck can be felt as pain elsewhere, shoulder stress can travel up the neck, down the arms, into the chest, and into the back depending on what part of the shoulder is affected. When a person "protects" a part of his body to minimize the pain, he may actually exacerbate the problem by demanding more damaging action at the source of pain in order to compensate for it. 

In a work setting, the most likely culprits for shoulder dysfunction are repetitive motion and static posture. In an exercise regimen, these forces on the shoulder (or anywhere) can build strength. This is true in the workplace, too, but the difference is after that exercise, the muscles are allowed to rest and often are stretched. Placing the arm at various angles and putting stress on the shoulder at work without allowing the joint to recover can lead to a variety of problems. Some of the most common issues involving the shoulder are: tendonitis, bursitis, frozen shoulder, impingement syndrome, degenerative joint disease, and arthritis. 

Any kind of pain is a signal from the body to stop or change activity. If work is placing too much stress on any part of the body, change needs to happen immediately. The longer pain is ignored and activity continues, the more debilitating an issue can become. This can lead to less efficient work, time loss, mistakes, and medical care - all costly and unwanted by any employee or employer. Minimizing the risk of injury can be accomplished with a number of ergonomic solutions. Some may be as simple as varying work tasks or incorporating more breaks. Others may involve changes to a work station or using a device to eliminate an activity. In any case, it benefits both the health of employees and business to identify possible threats to well-being and eliminate them.

Carol Olin is Vice President of Americarts USA, a manufacturer of material handling carts and platform carts. Americart USA can address your material transport needs with a low cost motorized cart that can be used in a variety of industries.

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Back Problems From Sitting

When people think of causes of back pain, they generally think of improper lifting and other types of short-term strain, but did you know that you can develop back problems from sitting? In fact, sitting, and specifically ergonomically incorrect or extended sitting, is one of the most common and most serious sources of back pain.

Sitting is an increasingly large and problematic part of our lives in developed countries. As jobs move away from manufacturing or labor intensive paradigms and more into largely sedentary office work, more and more of our time is being spent sitting. Not only does this mean that many of us aren't getting as much physical activity as we should, but it's also leading to an increase in chronic pain and other health problems that are related directly to the simple act of sitting.

The reason why sitting and back pain are so closely linked is that it is very difficult to maintain correct posture while sitting for prolonged periods in chairs that aren't designed in accordance with proper ergonomics. This is why it's not only possible, but very common, for people to develop back problems from sitting.

There are a few reasons as to why non-ergonomic chairs are largely responsible for back problems from sitting. For one thing, these chairs are not designed to accommodate a wide variety of sitting positions - usually, you can only sit in them one or two ways while still being able to work effectively, and these only for short periods of time. Even if you find a sitting position very comfortable at first, you will eventually need to shift in order to relieve the stress that inevitably builds on some part of your body. However, if your chair doesn't allow you to shift positions comfortably, you are essentially forced to be uncomfortable, and this discomfort is your body's way of telling you that you are placing strain on your body. Strain will eventually lead to chronic pain if repeated often enough.

Conventional chairs may also encourage poor posture, and they certainly do not actively promote good posture. Poor posture can lead to all sorts of problems, from breathing and circulation issues, to back pain, and this is another reason why sitting and back pain are closely linked.

Non-ergonomic chairs, even if they are adjustable in some way, lack the dimensions of adjustability that are provided by ergonomic chairs. In order to ensure comfort and therefore eliminate back problems from sitting, you need to be able to tailor the chair to your needs. It should be able to accommodate your height and other dimensions, as well as your preferred sitting positions, and the type of work you do. Any chair that does not accommodate you in all of these ways will be likely to cause back pain as well as many other possible problems.

The best solution to back problems from sitting is to switch to an ergonomic office chair. Ergonomic chairs prevent the development of back pain, and even relieve existing back pain, by adjusting and conforming to your body type, as well as by allowing you to sit comfortably in different positions and to perform different tasks without difficulty. The connection between sitting and back pain depends on the use of poorly designed chairs, and using an ergonomic chair will allow you to break the cycle.

Tempted to stick with cheap office chairs? Read our article about Cheap Office Chairs and Used Office Chairs for finding cheap office chairs.

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Ergonomic Neglect Leaves a Wake of Other Problems

Worksite accidents aren't the only incidents that cause workers to suffer pain or injury. Prolonged activity, repetitive movements, general fatigue, and poor body mechanics all take their tolls on the body. Prolonged activity is anything that lasts longer than 20 minutes and can be as simple as sitting in a chair. Repetitive movements include everything from typing to scanning merchandise to assembly-line work. Fatigue can be the result of working all day or simply not getting enough rest prior to starting work. Proper body mechanics are incredibly important for several reasons: A) when someone is lifting, pushing, or pulling, poor body mechanics can lead to injury, B) poor body mechanics like slouching or tilting the head create pain and dysfunction over time, C) when the body is used to poor body mechanics, it will prefer the position that is unnatural, thereby causing the problem to worsen, and D) proper body mechanics affects and is affected by prolonged activity, repetitive movements, and fatigue.

A person who doesn't suffer from a repetitive stress injury or something that can be diagnosed can still develop enough chronic pain or discomfort and become less productive at work. Even more frustrating is when this pain causes problems outside of work and become such a tangled mess of issues that physicians can't isolate the problem.

Probably the simplest human need that is the most taken for granted is sleep. Just because a person can function on very little sleep doesn't mean he doesn't need it. Sleep is how the body recovers from the day. Rest is incredibly important to health. Rest is especially vital for a person who is active. Muscles need to recover from activity; organs need time to rejuvenate and repair. Lack of sleep is hard on the body. When a person is in pain, sleeping is more difficult. It takes longer to fall asleep, and the person may not experience a deep enough sleep to recuperate. Therefore, he is more fatigued the next day at work, causing more stress on the body and worse body mechanics. This results in having even more difficulties sleeping. The cycle is fierce, and once it's in motion, it can be tough to stop.

Both pain and difficulty sleeping can lead to depression. As far as work goes, depression takes a large toll on motivation, desire to succeed, ability to perform routine functions, and overall attitude and morale. Additionally, depression exacerbates pain and causes sleep disturbances. As work performance decreases, other risks for depression increase (lack of pride in work, lower pay, getting fired, etc.) This nasty cycle can be especially difficult to recognize. Someone who is suffering from depression as a result of work-related pain may only get treated for the depression rather than the source of the problem: chronic pain. Even if treating depression improves the condition, without addressing the pain that caused so many problems, the patient will have to treat depression indefinitely.

Society is becoming wiser to the holistic understanding of action and reaction. We are better anticipating how an action will affect more parts of the whole. Employers know that if their workers are susceptible to debilitating injury, it will negatively affect the whole of the company. Similarly, if every-day work tasks aren't considered when a company implements ergonomics or an employee develops good working and living habits, the employee and company can be impacted just as negatively as with an onsite injury. With awareness of the work setting and conscious monitoring of how the body is used, these pain-causing activities can be fixed before they lead to worse problems.

Carol Olin is Vice President of Americarts USA, a manufacturer of US-made motorized platform carts used for material transporting in hospitals, hotels and industrial cart applications. Americart USA features high quality carts price to compete with imported products. Carol has been in the material transport equipment industry for over 11 years.

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