Regardless of your industry, hand and wrist injuries are among the most common work-related injuries worldwide. Whether it be from a slip that has you landing on your arm, from lifting or carrying heavy objects, or those small repeated movements that cause longstanding damage over the time, these injuries result in hundreds of hospital visits in  Connecticut each year. Not only does this mean much pain, frustration and a potentially lengthy recovery for you, but it may also mean a loss of income - or even your job.

While you may not be able to control accidental injuries, there are things you can be doing to help prevent other injuries to the wrist and hand at work - particularly those involving repetitive strains. Today, we'll be giving you the inside scoop on what you can start doing today to keep your hands and wrists happy and healthy, while decreasing your risk of injury at work.

Identify Potential Repetitive Strain (Overuse) Injuries

Repetitive strain injuries account for approximately 60% of all occupational injuries in  Conecticut. These are caused by both forceful and passive movements, constrained postures and generally unfavorable working conditions. These movements result in damage to the soft tissues - like muscles and tendons - due to their repetitive nature. Common overuse injuries of the wrist include:

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

• De Quervain's Tenosynovitis

• Intersection Syndrome

• Damage to the flexor tendons at the wrist and forearm

While the type of movement is very much industry-specific, it includes anything from lifting heavy objects to typing away at a computer at an awkward angle - no one that uses their hands and wrists as part of their job is immune. It happens because the tissues aren't given enough time to recover before the movement is performed again, and this progressively worsens until the result is pain.

The first step to prevention is to identify and acknowledge your risks. You may already have co-workers that have suffered certain problems, or you may know of injuries that are more prevalent among your industry. Once identified, you can start taking steps to reduce the risk of these injuries happening to you. This involves finding alternate, safe techniques that, knowing what we know about the intricate biomechanics of your hands and wrists, can get the job done comfortably while keeping you out of harm's way.

Keep Your Muscles Strong, Flexible & Unrestricted

Every job will have different demands from your hands, wrists and arms. Injuries occur at the point where the demand required exceeds what you can safely perform, given your strength, flexibility and the movement range that your joints allow. This is where understanding the demands on your body and working to build up your strength and flexibility is essential.

If your job is leaving your hands and wrists feeling tired, heavy and weak at the end of the day, that's a good sign that you need to work on your strength and flexibility outside of work to improve your performance. Here are a few steps we highly recommend you take:

1. Start each morning with a warm-up or a stretch of your hands, arms and wrists, just like you would before exercise. We've included arms here because of the musculature that attaches from the arms and into the wrists. Take time to stretch throughout the day, too.

2. Buy a couple of hand weights or resistance bands for your home. These can be used while watching television, brushing your teeth, and even speaking with your significant other. It's the small daily efforts that can make a large difference to your outcomes - and pain levels.

3. Know any restrictions or limitations in your joints and musculature. This is something that we can do after assessing the strength and integrity of the joints and muscles in your upper limbs. This will help you to understand the movements that are hard for you to perform because of muscle weakness (for example), versus those that are difficult because the shape of your joints doesn't allow for full movement. If it's the latter, it's usually a simple fix with an alternative technique - but you won't know until you're assessed!

Listen To Small Pains & Niggles

This is a big one. Injuries that have a gradual onset, like repetitive strains, will start as a small - and for many dismissible - pain. It is essential to emphasize here that pain is not normal. It is our body's way of letting us know that something isn't quite right. Our first instinctual response to pain is to stop whatever we're doing, right? Yet many don't when it comes to pain at work, because they feel that they must keep working or because others around them are performing the same actions without pain.

Unfortunately, as you keep performing the same actions that have caused that niggle, the damage will progressively worsen until you realize that you need help and it's not going to get better on its own. By that time, your injury has worsened and will require a longer recovery time - meaning you'll be in pain (and potentially away from work) for longer.

So to help prevent significant injuries at work, we urge you to listen to your body, and if you do feel that your job is causing a repetitive stress injury then contact a Connecticut work injury attorney quickly. 

Need Help? We've Got You Covered

If you've been experiencing discomfort in your hands and wrists, or you know you're at risk of sustaining an injury but you're not sure what you can do about it, we can help. We have a team of experienced and knowledgeable Connecticut workers compensation professionals that will help you understand your risks at work and how you may be eligible for treatment and other benefits.  You can book an appointment by calling us anytime at 860-523-8783.