Repetitive Motion Injuries in the Workplace

When most people think of workplace injuries they think about instances where people are hurt by machinery, tools, falls or other types of accidents. But not all workplace injuries happen in an instant like the previously mentioned injuries. Every year people are diagnosed with conditions such as carpal tunnel from their repetitive work on the job. When you look at these workers doing their job, the danger is not as apparent as, say, as an exposed wire. Follow the link to learn more about injured workers.

When a person performs the same motions over and over the result can be repetitive motion injuries. Repetitive motion injuries are also called overuse syndrome and cumulative trauma injury. Workers who have to twist their bodies in awkward positions are at greater risk of developing one of these conditions. I mentioned some common injuries that are the result of repetitive movement but tendinitis and hernias are also caused by repetitive motion.

Even if two workers have the same injury from doing the same type of work, the symptoms can be different. Some workers will suffer chronic pain that comes on suddenly and leaves suddenly. Other people experience pain that is describing as nagging that never really goes away. And some people have no pain where the injury has occurred but they do experience pain elsewhere. Because many of our muscles and joints work together it is not uncommon for pain to spread to unaffected areas.

You can see why these type of injuries aren't as easy to pinpoint like other workplace injuries such as power tool accidents. And for that reason, these individuals have a much more difficult time receiving the compensation they deserve. Sometimes it can be hard to prove that these types of injuries even happened on the job.

It is possible that a dozen people can do the same job and only one person receives a repetitive motion injury. Also, in a work environment, some people will be doing a job for longer than other because of turnover. On top of that the height of the workers and the age of the workers among other things factors into who develops repetitive work injuries. This makes it even harder to study how doing a certain job affects people.

It doesn't matter, however, that some people are unaffected by this work; repetitive jobs cause injuries. However, employers will seize on this and try to deny people with these types of injuries the compensation that is rightfully theirs. But that is where workers compensation lawyers come in; they can help you get what is owed to you should you ever find yourself in a situation where your employer is trying to deny you workers compensation.