Skip to the content
Home
/
Danella News
/
Ergonomics and Construction: Protecting Your Body on the Job

Ergonomics and Construction: Protecting Your Body on the Job

Published on: June 17, 2020

Categories: Health & Wellness

Construction work can be tough on the body. Unnatural body movements such as lifting, squatting, and repetitive motion can lead to musculoskeletal disorders, or MSDs. MSDs are injuries related to muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage, and spinal discs. In 2016 alone, musculoskeletal disorders accounted for 350,000 estimated work-related injuries – evidence of the toll MSDs can take on bodies as well as business. Enter ergonomics.

Ergonomics are solutions for keeping bodies safe and comfortable without impacting productivity. For example, ergonomic office chairs are designed keep bodies engaged while sitting. But what is the equivalent for construction workers? How can ergonomics protect bodies that are standing, moving, and exerting themselves all day?

Construction work makes ergonomics challenging, but not impossible.

Here are a few ways to preserve and protect your greatest asset – your body – when engaged in manual labor:

Please note, Danella is not a certified medical institution. Before performing any of these stretches, it is important to not only understand your physical capabilities, but to speak with a medical professional.