By the Numbers – Safe Lifting

DID YOU KNOW?

Manual lifting, is a source of many injuries.

• Overexertion while lifting can result in strains, sprains, torn ligaments or muscles, and ruptured or slipped disks. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 94,420 workers in private industry suffered injuries due to overexertion while lifting during 2015. These injuries were serious enough to require days away from work.
• Falls to a lower level (which many people consider to be more hazardous than lifting) caused 50,490 injuries during 2015.
• According to the National Safety Consul Laboure and Medical Research 20 % of back aches are interpreted to inflammation such as writers 10 % are due to actually about back injuries and other mexolide causes, 70 % result from degeneration of spinal discs that’s right agent of spinal discs criteria causes the most trouble and can cause strain pain even from routine body motions.

FACTS

• Injuries come from grounds workers lifting and lowering mowing equipment off trucks, employees lifting special needs students who have fallen or lifting/lowering them to and from wheelchairs, nutrition services workers who retrieve food containers from bottom shelves multiple times a day, or custodians who are injured from emptying trash cans in the cafeteria. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, work-related
  musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs), including back injuries, account for more than one out of every three work-related injuries in the United States.
• Lifting and carrying objects is common for many workers across the country. But training is important. If performed improperly, lifting and carrying items can lead to injuries. The National Safety Council notes that manual handling of objects accounts for an estimated 25 percent of all occupational injuries. Common materials-handling injuries include strains and sprains (specifically to the back), cuts, fractures, and bruises. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, back injuries are responsible for more lost work time than any other musculoskeletal injury. Moreover, of injuries occurring to the lower back, 3 out of 4 occurred while the employee was lifting. The frequency and economic impact of back injuries and disorders on the workforce are expected to increase over the next several decades as the average age of the workforce increases and medical costs go up.

NIOSH MODEL

NIOSH has developed a mathematical model that helps predict the risk of lifting-related injuries. The lifting equation defines a recommended weight limit (RWL) for specific lifting tasks that most workers could perform over an eight-hour day without…