These Common Activities Can Lead to Muscle Strains in the Workplace

Work-related activities can lead to muscle strains, impacting your ability to work and incurring high treatment costs. Our attorneys can help!

Here are some work-related activities that can lead to muscle strains. By becoming familiar with them, it is our hope you avoid getting injured on the job.

Lifting Heavy Objects

Lifting heavy objects, especially with improper technique, can strain workers’ back, shoulder, and arm muscles since they have to work beyond their usual capacity. This overexertion stretches and causes microtears in the muscles leading to pain, a dull ache, and even loss of mobility.

Sometimes lifting heavy objects also wears down ligaments and tendons that hold your muscles in place.  This wearing out could lead to joint pain and a lack of mobility. Workers experiencing muscle tears and worn-out ligaments should stop working or risk exacerbating the condition. 

Not Taking Breaks

Intense physical activity like lifting heavy loads and repeating the same muscle movement for extended periods can lead to fatigue. Muscle fatigue occurs when the muscles’ ability to generate force declines, making you feel weaker and compromising your ability to work effectively. 

Consider taking a two-minute break after every 10 minutes of intense work activities. Also, listen to your body, and take a break whenever you have to prevent muscle strain.

Incorrect Lifting Technique

Improper lifting techniques are one of the leading causes of muscle strains in the workplace. Examples of improper lifting techniques include using your back instead of your legs for lifting or engaging the wrong muscles group while doing the same.

To lift with proper technique, you should generally do the following:

• Space your legs to widen your support base
• Squat down while bending at the hips and knees only
• Maintain a proper and upright posture while lifting
• Slowly straighten your body and lift the object
• Keep the object as close to your body as possible

Failing to Warm Up

Your muscles are rigid when cold, so warming up makes them flexible and more resistant to muscle strains and sprains. A simple three-minute warm up can often go a long way in preventing muscle sprain while working.

Speak With a Workers Compensation Attorney

Straining your muscles at work is frustrating, especially if you have to take time off to recuperate. Fortunately, workers’ comp insurance generally provides compensation for lost wages and medical expenses. However, handling workers’ comp claims by yourself can be difficult, especially if you’re struggling to recover from a workplace injury. That’s where our experienced workers compensation attorneys can help. We have over 30 years of experience and a proven track record of success. Give us a call for a free case evaluation.