News & Views: Back Injury Prevention Goes Online

The last thing anybody wants is to be injured on the job. But studies suggest injuries are increasing for emergency medical providers, just as they are for police and fire professionals.1 On top of that, nightmare stories abound for problems with insurance and Worker’s Comp claims.2 One may well ask, “Who will take responsibility if I get injured on the job?”

Bob Patterson, president of IMPACC USA, a company that specializes in injury prevention programs for the workplace, suggests employees can take charge of their well-being by asking instead, “How do I keep from getting injured?”

With over 20 years’ experience sending physiotherapists into a wide variety of industries to teach both management and workers how to prevent work-related injuries, IMPACC USA looks to eliminate risks caused by workplace “politics, policies and procedures.” This summer they introduced their first online, Web-based employee training courses to help workers focus on protecting themselves. “Employees must be motivated to take responsibility for—and care of—the only body they have with which to earn a living,” Patterson says.

These multimedia, interactive courses show workers how to take an active role in preventing back and upper extremity cumulative trauma disorders—also called musculo-skeletal disorder (MSD) injuries—at work, and in improving their overall health by teaching them how to properly use their bodies for the particular tasks their jobs require of them.

“These are perfect for emergency medical providers, who have the dubious distinction of lifting things that move,” says Patterson, “and so are at great risk for shoulder, arm and back injuries.”

Co-developed with well-known physiotherapist instructor Lauren Andrew Hebert, PT, the Web-based training provides potentially back-saving education at around-the-clock convenience—an increasingly popular option for the EMS work schedule. It may be especially useful for new-employee orientations. New hires, says Patterson, are at the greatest risk of MSD injury, because they are trying hard to prove themselves before their bodies have become conditioned for the work.

In the meantime, he adds, “Lauren says the most important thing you can do to save your back is to stretch your hamstrings. If your hamstrings are too tight, your hips won’t rotate [correctly], and you end up…putting a significant strain on your back.”

Each registration includes a professional booklet to reinforce course information. The whole package, including an interactive demo, can be found at www.impacctraining.com, or call 800/762-7720.

References

1. League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust. Annual Report 2004. www.lmnc.org/pdfs/LMCITAnnualReports/LMCITAR04.pdf.
2. Erich J. From provider to patient: injured in the line of duty. Emerg Med Serv Mar 2001. www.emsmagazine.com/articles/emsarts/provider.html.

—KR