A Construction Workers' Guide To Injury Prevention
- Jeremy Tarwater PT, DPT
- Oct 10, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated September 30th, 2022
Introduction
Have you worked in construction or manual labor for what seems like your entire life? All of that stress on the body commonly leads to a variety of injuries. Many of these injuries are ignored because who can make money without working? The refusal of putting health first can lead to more damage and possible surgeries in the future, like total joint replacements or rotator cuff repairs. I am here to tell you that these surgeries may be avoided if you do the right things for your body. I have created a few videos below that are examples of proper form and exercises that can help you move better and prevent future injuries.
Common injuries
Below is a list of the typical injuries most manual labor workers deal with. We have articles that go into more depth on each of these injuries, just click on the injury if you would like to learn more.
Rotator Cuff Tendinitis or Impingement
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
If left untreated, most of these injuries lead to a surgical procedure in the future. Many people who go through years of manual labor end up in this predicament.
Correcting Form
The most common culprit for these injuries is repetitive lifting with poor form. The human body was made to lift and carry objects, just like our ancestors did. But when we lift and carry objects with poor form, the stress and loads placed on our joints and tendons is more than doubled. Think about holding a bowling ball close to your body versus further away from your body. The further away from your body the ball is, more stress and load will be placed on your entire body. All of the stress leads to break down of the muscles and tendons that are supposed to keep us upright and stable.
How many manual labor workers do you know that come home from work, stretch out, and relax for the rest of the night? That’s right, the answer is none of them. These men and women are movers. They come home from work and they have other stuff to do: more projects, taking care of kids, chores around the house, and much more. So they lift and carry with poor form throughout the day, then come home and place more stress on their body with improper form during those tasks as well. Watch my videos below for some examples of proper lifting and carrying form throughout your workday. If you would like some more examples of proper form during specific activities, send me a message and I’ll make a video for you.
Prevention Strategies
The most recommended approach to preventing injuries and possible surgeries is to use proper body mechanics and maintain optimal muscle length and stability. I have created some videos for you on how to warm up your muscles and keep them active and loosened throughout the workday. I’ve also included some stretches for you to use either throughout the day or at the end of the day to relax those tired muscles and joints.
Conclusion
For a therapist, seeing a patient from this population can be both simple and difficult. Movement is vital to health and I don’t want anyone to give up their daily movement. Since these men and women are movers, it is difficult to get them to rest, relax, and stretch their body; especially throughout the workday. Most of this population determine their task and get it done as soon as they can. Many of them don’t see the advantage of stretching out and relaxing the body throughout the day. But these movements that I showed above can help you prevent an injury, especially from repetitive lifting or carrying with improper form. Give these thoughts and exercises a try and let us know what works for you.
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Last updated April 24, 2022
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