Injury prevention directly supports mission readiness. When service members are injured in the workplace, training, recreating or other circumstances, it impacts their ability to complete their mission.
- Almost 50% of service members experience an injury every year. Not all injuries can be avoided, but many common injuries can be prevented.
- An Army study found that noncombat musculoskeletal injuries (MSKI) account for nearly 60% of soldiers’ limited duty days, and contribute to 65% of soldiers who cannot deploy for medical reasons.
Occupational Injuries
Occupational injuries are injuries experienced at work or because of work you do. Service members work in a variety of very challenging conditions with many potential injury risks. Managing these risks is critical to maintaining mission readiness and avoiding missed duty time.
Occupational Injury Prevention
- Service members work in a variety of very challenging conditions with many potential injury risks.
- Wearing proper protective equipment, like helmets, ear covers and safety glasses is key to preventing workplace injuries.
- Repetitive stress and hand injuries are also common, and can be mitigated through working with installation occupational health experts to improve process and work environment using proper ergonomic principles.
- Medical workers experience some of the highest rates of workplace injury.
- Common causes of health care worker injuries include: blood-borne pathogens and biological hazards; chemical and drug exposures; respiratory hazards; ergonomic hazards from lifting (like moving patients) and repetitive tasks; and, radioactive material and x-ray hazards.
- Tips to prevent workplace injuries:
- A short 30-60 second break in work to stretch and change postures can improve musculoskeletal health.
- When lifting and carrying items, avoid twisting and keep the item close to your body.
- The weight of a backpack should not exceed 15% of the user’s weight to reduce risk of back injury.
- When lifting, break down larger items into smaller, lighter loads.
- Engineering controls are the best way to minimize and eliminate exposure to work related musculoskeletal disorder risk factors. Consider use of dollies, carts, lifts, power tools, and other task appropriate equipment.
- Store materials in the “Strike zone” (mid-thigh to shoulder height).
- Ask for help with activities that could stress your capabilities.
Training and Recreational Activities
Training and recreational activities help service members optimize their fitness and performance but are also a common source of injuries. Proper preventive steps minimize the risk of injuries during these activities.
Training and Recreational Injury Prevention
- Physical training and sports injuries are of particular concern, as these injuries frequently lead to lost duty days.
- Risk for injuries include: history of prior injury, nutrition, tobacco use, body fat, and low fitness levels; and poor training practices, surfaces, environment, and equipment or protective gear.
- Many training activities associated with injuries (like running or parachuting) cannot be avoided, but the frequency and proper use of safety procedures and equipment reduce risk.
- Running is the number one cause of MSKIs in service members. MSKIs contribute to more than half of lost duty days.
- Don’t just focus on severe injuries and fatalities – common musculoskeletal overuse injuries such as sprains and stress fractures also negatively affect readiness.
- Stretching is critical to building flexibility and minimizing injury risk.
- Flexibility improves muscle balance and posture and increases blood and nutrients supply to muscles, reducing the chance of injury when performing high-impact activities.
- Dynamic warms-ups and stretching are most effective at preparing your body to exercise. “Cold” or “static” stretching can actually increase injury risk.
- Limiting the type of exercise you perform can increase injury risk. Mix up the types and intensity of exercises, include agility and balance drills.
- Over-exercising can also cause injuries. Include weekly rest and recovery days in your exercise routine. Avoid doing the same strenuous activities that use the same muscle group on back-to-back days.
- Any time you start a new workout or exercise routine, gradually increase the intensity and duration to acclimate your body to the activity.
- Listen to your body. If you feel something is wrong, especially if it feels like bone or joint pain (as opposed to muscle soreness), take to your trainer, physical therapist or medical provider.
- Watch for symptoms of overtraining, like fatigue or muscle soreness beyond the next-day soreness, and adjust your training accordingly.
Injury Recovery
When service members suffer an injury, proper recovery is needed to return to duty. Working with a healthy provider, following a plan and avoiding re-injury are critical.
Injury Recovery
- A good recovery program, executed properly, accelerates recovery and gets service members back to the full duty status.
- Small injuries can pile up over time – it is better to seek medical advice before small injuries turn into something more serious.
- Previous injuries can make you more susceptible to re-injury.
- Recovery from serious injuries can be both physical and mental.
- The greatest risk factor for a musculoskeletal injury is a previous musculoskeletal injury. Completing recovery before returning to previous levels of physical activity is critical to preventing future injuries.
- If you injured, it may be necessary to rearrange your home, workspace, habits, or recreation to eliminate activities that could reinjury you, especially if your injury is related to heavy lifting.
- The sooner an injury recovery program begins, the more likely and successful the recovery.
- Some injuries require physical therapy to recover, while other may require surgery. Discuss option with your primary care provider.
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