Overexertion

Occupational and Physical Therapists play a large role in helping Injured Workers recover from their industrial injuries. In doing so, however, Occupational and Physical Therapists may be placing themselves at risk for sustaining a work injury. More specifically, both Occupational and Physical Therapist’s work activities can place them at risk for sustaining musculoskeletal disorders. These musculoskeletal disorders can include back problems, shoulder problems, and wrist problems.

The article will discuss Occupational and Physical Therapists, what activities they perform on the job that may be injurious to them, and the rates of injuries that occur for Occupational and Physical Therapists.

What is an Occupational Therapist (OT)?

Per the American Occupational Therapy Association, “occupational therapists …help people… participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations.)”

OT Programs can include “an individualized evaluation, during which the client/family and occupational therapist determine the person’s goals, [a] customized intervention to improve the person’s ability to perform daily activities and reach the goals, and an outcomes evaluation to ensure that the goals are being met and/or make changes to the intervention plan.”

What is a Physical Therapist (PT)?

Per the American Physical Therapy Association, “[p]hysical therapists are movement experts who improve quality of life through prescribed exercise, hands-on care, and patient education.”

“Physical therapists examine each person and then develops a treatment plan to improve their ability to move, reduce or manage pain, restore function, and prevent disability.”

What is the Difference Between an Occupational and Physical Therapists?

The Occupational Therapist focuses on the patient’s ability to perform work-related functions. The Physical Therapist focuses on physical activities in general.

What Are The Work Activities That Are Injurious to OTs and PTs?

Transfers/Lifts and manual therapy have been found to be associated with musculoskeletal disorders. “Darragh AR, Campo M, King P. Work-related activities associated with injury in occupational and physical therapists. Work. 2012;42(3):373-84. doi: 10.3233/WOR-2012-1430. PMID: 22523031; PMCID: PMC3839086. These activities have been found to impact the lumbar spine. Supra.

Patient handling activities include (transfers, repositioning and patient lifting. Supra.

Manual therapy includes soft tissue work, joint mobilization, and orthopedic techniques. Supra.

Manual Therapy was found also found as a risk factor consistent risk factor for both injuries as well as gradual onset of WSMDs. Supra. In workers’ compensation terms, this would be considered as a cumulative trauma injury.

With Respect to Musculoskeletal Disorders? Is There Any Difference Between OTs and PTs?

No. “Occupational (OTs) and physical therapists (PTs) have substantial and similar rates of work-related injury (WRI), musculoskeletal pain and musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD)” Darragh AR, Campo M, King P. Work-related activities associated with injury in occupational and physical therapists. Work. 2012;42(3):373-84. doi: 10.3233/WOR-2012-1430. PMID: 22523031; PMCID: PMC3839086.

“Darragh et al. reported an annual WRI incidence rate among OTs and PTs of 16.5 and 16.9 per 100 full-time workers, respectively.” Darragh AR, Campo M, King P. Work-related activities associated with injury in occupational and physical therapists. Work. 2012;42(3):373-84. doi: 10.3233/WOR-2012-1430. PMID: 22523031; PMCID: PMC3839086.

What Are Injury Rates for Activities? What Do Therapists Think Are the Causes of Their Injuries?

“Manual therapy and transfers/lifts accounted for more than half of all injuries (54.0%), across all practice areas.” Supra. “Manual therapy was the greatest proportion of injuries to the wrist and hand (69.1%).” Supra. “Transfer and lifting activities were associated with 26.6% of injuries Over half of these injuries were to the low back (53.0%), followed by the shoulder (19.7%) and the head/neck (18.2%).” Supra. “Other activities associated with injury included environmental and equipment interactions (10.9%), multiple activities (6.5%) and patient falls (5.7%)”

What Do Therapists Think of How They Get Hurt?

Therapists opine that force, awkward posture, repetitive motion, sustained posture, and fatigue were factors contributing to those type of injuries. Supra.

For wrist and hand injuries, therapists opine that repetitive motion (experienced during joint mobilizations and range of motion activities), force (experienced during range of motion, soft tissue work, and joint mobilizations), awkward posture and sustained posture were factors contributing to those type of injuries. Supra.

For transfer and lifting activities, opined that “these injuries occurred both gradually because of repeated performance of transfers over time and more suddenly when a patient behaved in an unexpected way (grabbed the therapist, stumbled, or moved in an unexpected direction.) The majority of therapist identified force (72.7%;48/66), including overexertion and lifting, and awkward posture (54.5%; 36/66) as the primary contributing factors to their transfer injuries.” Supra.

What if I Need Advice?

If you would like a free consultation regarding workers’ compensation, please contact the Law Offices of Edward J. Singer, a Professional Law Corporation. We have been helping people in Central and Southern California deal with their workers’ compensation cases for 27 years. Contact us today for more information.

Firefighters play a vital role in society. Each Firefighter represents a significant investment by a community. Therefore, there is significant study into how and why Firefighters are injured. Researchers use the term overexertion to describe mechanisms of injury.

This type of research is important for Firefighters. When a Firefighter is injured and the mechanism of injury is of a certain nature, there will be a certain reaction from Management and Risk Management. If Management and Risk Management is aware that a particular type of injury is common, it may be viewed with less scrutiny. Likewise, Firefighters claiming injury that are unique in nature may be subject to greater scrutiny.

This article will discuss overexertion, the results of a recent study and what Firefighter should be concerned about concerning the results of the study.

What Is Overexertion?

The Study noted that “according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the term “overexertion” is sometimes used synonymously or interchangeably with “bodily reaction” Strains can be defined as injury to the muscle or musculotendinous joint, and sprains are an injury to the ligament.” Firefighter Overexertion: A Continuing Problem Found in an Analysis of Non-Fatal Injury Among Career Firefighters Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(21), 7906; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17217906 Published: 28 October 2020

Note: essentially, overexertion injuries are orthopedics injuries. For example, back injuries which are usually lumbar sprains/strains, or cervical sprains/strains. It can include injuries to both the upper and lower extremities such as shoulder sprains/strains and knee sprains/strains.

Why Is Overexertion Injuries Significant With Respect to Workers’ Compensation?

Per the Study, Overexertion.. is the leading cause of non-fatal injury across ten industry categories and accounts for 35% of non-fatal injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work per year.” .” Firefighter Overexertion: A Continuing Problem Found in an Analysis of Non-Fatal Injury Among Career Firefighters Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(21), 7906; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17217906 Published: 28 October 2020

Work Injuries can be costly to both private and government positions. The study noted that the “resultant sprain and strain injuries cost U.S. businesses and organizations an estimated USD 13.8 billion a year in direct costs, which include medical and lost-wage payments.” .” Firefighter Overexertion: A Continuing Problem Found in an Analysis of Non-Fatal Injury Among Career Firefighters Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(21), 7906; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17217906 Published: 28 October 2020

Note: with respect to any industry, including Fire Departments, there is a need to contain risk management costs by having injury reduction.

What Did the Overexertion Study Tells Us About Firefighter Injuries?

The study found that despite the fact that the occupation deals with fire and its destructive properties to a human body, it is the overexertion which is the greatest source of injury to for firefighting personnel. .” Firefighter Overexertion: A Continuing Problem Found in an Analysis of Non-Fatal Injury Among Career Firefighters Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(21), 7906; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17217906 Published: 28 October 2020

Note: with respect to this study, it important to note that the Departments appear to do an excellent job with respect to safety equipment to prevent fire and burn-related injuries. Thus, orthopedic injuries then emerge as the most common source of injury.

Another study provided additional data of interest. “Leading injury events were fires and explosions (36%) and overexertion and bodily reactions (20%). A majority (38%) of injuries occurred during firefighting activities, 7% occurred during training, and 7% occurred during patient care. Sprains and strains accounted for the largest proportion of injuries in all three of these activities: 28% firefighting activities, 32% training, and 36% patient care. Nonfatal Injuries to Firefighters Treating in U.S. Emergency Departments, 2003-2014, Suzanne M. Marsch, MPA, Melody Gwilliam MPH Srinivas Konda MPH Hope M.Tiesman PhD Rita Fahy Phd, American Journal of Preventative Medicine Volume 55, Issue 3, September 2018, P. 353-360.

Does Age Have an Impact with Respect to What Injuries Firefighters Have?

Yes. The study found that younger firefighters have different injuries than older firefighters. The study found that “FF personnel aged less than 39 experienced higher levels of injury as a result of fires and explosions, transportation incidents, and contact with objects and equipment, relative to those aged 40 and above. Those aged 40 and above experienced falls, slips and trips, as well as overexertion and bodily reactions at a higher prevalence than their younger counterparts.” .” Firefighter Overexertion: A Continuing Problem Found in an Analysis of Non-Fatal Injury Among Career Firefighters Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(21), 7906; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17217906 Published: 28 October 2020

What will Department Do about This?

The study recommended a focus on fitness and ergonomics. Firefighter Overexertion: A Continuing Problem Found in an Analysis of Non-Fatal Injury Among Career Firefighters Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(21), 7906; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17217906 Published: 28 October 2020.

Note: the challenges to this issue is that a significant amount of firefighting activity is performed in conditions in which ergonomics may not be able to be practiced. Thus, this is a significant challenge. Also, in the other study, overexertion injuries appear to be spread about evenly across the many task performed. Therefore, an overall approach may be taken by Departments as opposed to any particular job task.

What if I Need Advice?

Category Archives: overexertion

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