Upper back pain | Upper back pain causes | Ergonomics

                               Upper back pain | Upper back pain causes | Ergonomics

Upper back pain

  Upper back pain | Upper back pain causes | Ergonomics | Upper limb disorder

 How to relieve upper back pain

ERGONOMICS |  UPPER BACK PAIN 

The health effects associated with ergonomics are those relating to the musculoskeletal system of the body and include upper limbs; lower limbs; trunk; and neck. Other body areas that can be affected by poor ergonomics include the back, legs, or individual finger or hand muscles.

Health risks associated with ergonomics are referred to as Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) and target a minimum of six main groups of people in the workplace.

Postural Fatigue Usually in jobs involving static postural loading, particularly on the neck and upper back, the shoulders, and the upper arms.

Back Pain Back pain, whether originating in soft tissues or with the involvement of nerves and spinal elements is a major occupational health problem.

This usually results from lifting operations.

UPPER LIMB DISORDERS (ULD)

The spectrum of conditions that affect muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, or other soft tissues and joints. The upper limbs include the neck, shoulders, arms, wrists, hands, and fingers.

Upper limb disorders can occur in almost any workplace and are usually preventable. If prevention is unsuccessful, systems are required to ensure that they are promptly reported, diagnosed, and treated.

The Upper limb disorder terms essentially relate to the same health effects. However, they all represent disorders caused by a strain on the body which is preventable by careful and considerate design.

The Eye Strain Some VDU users may experience temporary visual fatigue leading to a range of symptoms such as impaired visual performance (e.g. blurred vision), red or sore eyes, and headaches. Visual symptoms may be caused by:

·         Staying in the same position and concentrating for a long time

·         Poor positioning of the VDU

·         Poor legibility of the screen, keyboard, or source documents

·         Poor lighting, including glare and reflections

·         Drifting, flickering, or jittering images on the screen.

·         Working with VDUs is not directly associated with permanent damage to either the eyes or to eyesight; nor does it make existing conditions worse.

Fatigue & Stress

 The state of feeling very tired, weary or sleepy resulting from insufficient sleep, prolonged mental or physical work, or extended periods of stress or anxiety. Furthermore, monotonous or repetitive tasks and tasks placing stress on the musculoskeletal system can intensify feelings of fatigue.

RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH UPPER EXTREMITIES

Work-related factors associated with musculoskeletal injuries have been identified. Repetition, a series of motions having little variation and performed every few seconds, shall produce fatigue and muscle-tendon strain. If adequate recovery time is not allowed for these effects to diminish, or if the motions also involve awkward postures or forceful exertions, the risk of actual tissue damage and other musculoskeletal problem shall increase.

FORCE

Force if the person cannot change hand rotation easily, reducing, shifting, or adding weight in order of preference will shift the center of gravity and hence add force to the exertion required to perform a task. When using a handheld tool, the torque required to hold the tool adds to the force.

POSTURE

Work posture is a function of the location and orientation of the work and the design of tools used when performing the work. Posture affects the ability of workers to reach, hold, and use equipment and influences how long they can perform their jobs without adverse health effects. Extreme postures shall lead to discomfort and joint stresses; reduced blood flow; high muscle forces; fatigue; reduced endurance time; acute shoulder and neck pain; shoulder tendonitis; and carpal tunnel syndrome.

STATIC LOADS

A static load occurs when manual work is performed and muscles are isometrically contracted, but no readily observable motion occurs. During static loading of the muscles, the body is in the same posture for an extended period, the metabolic energy requirements are high, and the blood circulation is low. Therefore, the muscles do not receive the needed oxygen and easily become fatigued.

MECHANICAL STRESS

The mechanical stress repeated exertion of forces results in reaction stresses transmitted through the hand to the underlying tendons. Local contact stresses that are pressure concentration joints, resulting from manipulating external objects (pressure caused by uneven surface projections), can cause injury to nerves, blood vessels, and skin.

LOW TEMPERATURES

Cold exposure can occur near air exhaust systems of power tools, from the handling of cold objects e.g. metal hand tools, or storage environments. Chronic exposure to low-temperature environments or low-temperature objects can contribute to numbness, decreased blood flow, and diminished sensory feedback. As a result, personnel may unconsciously exert grip forces that are much greater than needed, causing unnecessary strain on tendons and possible injury. Environmental air temperatures shall not be less than 20°C for a prolonged period if any personnel’s hand is in contact with tools and materials.

Cold environments can either cause or exacerbate work-related cumulative trauma disorders. Cold temperatures reduce blood flow to the upper extremities, especially the hands, affecting an abundance of motor and sensory nerves. The cold temperature may also reduce the sensory feedback from the hands and cause personnel to have greater exertion of force to perform their jobs.

VIBRATION

The vibration personnel exposed to the vibration of the upper limbs often complain of numbness of fingers, wrist pain, and sensitivity to cold, and circulatory disturbances in the fingers. There are many factors to consider in examining vibration exposure, including frequency and magnitude of vibration, duration of exposure, temporal exposure pattern and work method, the posture of hand, and type of tool. Vibration-induced vascular diseases can result from frequencies between 20-1000 Hz, the range of most power hand tools. Vibration causes over-gripping of the tool and leads to higher forearm muscle activation and higher muscle loads. When this is combined with repetitive work, the vibration may exacerbate musculoskeletal disorders.

GLOVES

Gloves enhance friction and in some tasks reduce strength requirements. Gloves can interfere with hand movements and may reduce hand strength depending on glove material and fit. Task completion time may also be delayed with certain types of gloves as they may impede performance in certain situations, such as hazardous chemical releases.

FIT AND REACH

The Fit and reachability of individuals to fit in the workplace, reach objects and hand tools, and see without obstruction can force them to adopt awkward postures and have static loads that can cause musculoskeletal injuries or aggravate existing disorders.

WORK ORGANIZATION

Machine pacing can cause problems because personnel cannot control work pace or task frequency. Also, the type of job personnel are doing may not allow them to recover from the previous task.

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (WRIST SPLINTS)

The PPEs using a wrist splint may cause more harm because the work orientation may require personnel to bend their wrists. If personnel is wearing wrist splints, they may have to use more force to work against the brace or change the posture of the elbows or shoulders to accommodate the straight wrist. This is not only inefficient but also may increase the pressure in the carpal tunnel area, causing more damage to the hand and wrist.