Real Answers: Getting Unstuck from Persistent Soft-Tissue Injuries
- By Robert Pater
- Oct 03, 2022
Some problems just seem to nag on, like something clinging to your hand you just can’t seem to vigorously shake or brush off, or worse, a splinter embedded in a sensitive spot that hurts but in too deep to dig out yourself. That’s how some soft-tissue injuries just seem to be, but worse—tenacious, costly, painful. For many companies, such strains and sprains are prevalent and affect a broad swath of their people, not just among those doing highly physical jobs.
As you might expect, this has garnered a lot of attention in the world of organizational safety, and frustration. I’ve encountered some safety leaders who sincerely believe they’ve “tried everything” to press the undo key on these injuries, but with little results. Just review any statistics of lost-time incidence or costs. Soft-tissue injuries lead the league by a big margin—consistently, going way back into the past. Not to mention precious eroding productivity from difficult-to-replace workers either being out for the count or those still working but hampered to some degree.
Wise leaders understand that despite the many hours and resources expended, it’s impossible to have “tried everything.” Past trials are often just variations on basically the same theme (like those songs with very similar melodies where, “Haven’t I heard this before—or something just like it?”). Indeed, some of these interventions have worked to a point—yet soft-tissue injuries stubbornly persist at too-high rates.
The hopeful news is that many companies are making real and sizable improvements in soft-tissue safety by changing it up, not doing the same things they’ve done over again in the past. (Consider one of my favorite Will Rogers quotes, “The secret of success is simple. If you’re in a hole, quit digging.” Notice he didn’t suggest, “Stay the course” or “Do the same things, just harder” or “Get a bigger shovel.”)
If yours is like many other companies concerned about strains and sprains, consider two critical strategies from our experience with companies achieving over 85 percent reported drops in soft-tissue injuries:
*Reduce external forces, then promote internal control. Because soft-tissue injuries typically result from concentration of forces wearing or breaking down a (relatively small) body part, naturally, the first step is to design out whatever physical risks you cost-effectively can. You know the logical standards: reduce distance from loads, lower weights that are moves, make whatever you can adjustable for different statured workers, suspend tools rather than expect people to be biological clamps, more. But that’s just a first and definitely not the only step. Realistically, it’s impossible, as many have come to ruefully realize, to get rid of all (or even most?) such risk factors in the real world. Like when it’s not cost-effective to shut down/replace old equipment, control environments with remote workers, people in the field exposed to the elements, those with at-home cumulative trauma risks, etc.
This article originally appeared in the October 1, 2022 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.