Ergonomics on the job, taking a proactive approach

Accepting aches and pains as simply a part of the workday rather than having them checked out may not be wise.

“If a worker ignores the aches and pains and does nothing, they could develop a muscle imbalance,” says Sherry Mourant, occupational therapist at Harbourside Rehabilitation Solutions, in Bedford, NS.

“Sometimes the muscles on one side of the body can be stronger than the muscles on the other side. This can cause other issues, for example in your low back, if one side is stronger than the other, you could end up with your pelvis being out of alignment which can affect your mobility. It can impact everything from the pelvis and up your spine as well.”

Defining ergonomics

Ergonomics, also referred to as human engineering, is fitting the job to the worker and the product to the user. Workplace ergonomic assessments can be done by an ergonomist or an occupational therapist.

“We observe the person doing their job; watch their body mechanics, how they are moving their body, or positioning their body, while they are working,” Mourant explains. “We make suggestions to the person to modify their movements or the way they set themselves up, so they are more in keeping with ergonomic principles.”

The result of this ergonomic assessment could mean a change in technique, placement of equipment or the purchase of new equipment.

Chris Spinney, an ergonomist with the Workers’ Compensation Board in Nova Scotia, says the most common workplace injuries are musculoskeletal injuries, often referred to as sprains and strains. “These are typically brought on by assuming awkward postures (bending or twisting), completing repetitive work (high frequency use of single muscle groups), and/or exerting high forces (through manual materials handling).”

He recommends implementing a hazard identification process as a proactive approach to the problem. “Through this process you can not only find the workplace hazards, but you can implement controls to eliminate or reduce their impact on workers.”

First-hand experience

“Often the muscles are on autopilot, they stiffen up because that is what they are used to doing. When your body becomes aware of movement and you move the way you should, it feels very good”

Aches and pains are all too familiar to George Dewtie, who worked as a line operator at Michelin, in Pictou county, NS, for 39 years. Dewtie had problems with his left elbow in 2014. His job was to ensure the continuous belt of rubber going on the line didn’t jam up. Each section weighed 240 kilograms, so it took considerable strength. “When you have to free up the rubber on the line you are in an awkward position, sometimes working over the line and sometimes under it,” says Dewtie. At the end point the rubber is stored on pallets. “When it falls off the pallet, it’s a mess. Two or three pieces can fall off at once and it takes three or four men to lift them back on.”

Dewtie was helping two other workers put the rubber back on the pallet when his elbow got worse. The pain just wasn’t going away. He went to see the company’s medical staff and ergonomist. They told him he had golfer’s elbow, a condition that causes pain on the inner side of the elbow where the tendons of the forearm muscles attach to the bony bump on the inside. He went to his own doctor and she referred him to a physiotherapist.

Dewtie continued to work. “It came along good until eight weeks later; I was doing the same thing and re-injured it.” Michelin helped him, telling him not to lift anything more than five pounds. They also gave him a helper to train on the line work. “He was the muscle and I was the brains,” Dewtie jokes.

It’s been one year since his injury. Dewtie retired in June but still goes to physiotherapy, now for his right arm. “My left arm took so long to start healing, I overcompensated with my right arm. Now it’s sore.” Fortunately, his treatment is covered by Workers’ Compensation.

He advises any worker with ongoing, unrelieved pain to get it looked after as soon as possible.

At the office You don’t have to be lifting heavy materials to run into problems. It can happen just sitting at a desk. Physiotherapist Keltie Cheney, rehab manager at One to One Wellness in Halifax, says a static body position often causes a problem, stiffness or a general diffused achiness. “Motion is lotion. The body needs maintenance and that maintenance is movement.”

“Think about the last time you changed position,” she says. This would apply to an office worker but also to the physician who may change rooms but use the same body position examining each patient. “She hasn’t looked up or down, hasn’t rotated her back left or right, tends to look straight ahead.”

Cheney offers somatic exercises as part of her treatments to help make clients more aware of how they are moving. “Often the muscles are on autopilot; they stiffen up because that is what they are used to doing. When your body becomes aware of movement and you move the way you should, it feels very good.”