Most Americans spend half their waking hours working a job, so the risk of suffering an occupational injury at some point is quite high. Even the safest workplace has injuries and people can still get hurt performing the most mundane tasks. However, some jobs have a higher risk of occupational injury. Panther Physical Therapy explores three of those jobs and what occupational injury risks they have.
Truck drivers
This may seem like a counterintuitive job to have a higher risk of occupational injury. After all, truck drivers sit behind a wheel all day. But that’s the point! Sitting down all day is terrible for health and puts you at risk for:
- Heart disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- Poor circulation which can lead to blood clots
- Bad posture
Even worse is that drivers are not able to break every 15 minutes to get up and walk around as recommended. This plus the risk of traumatic injury from an auto collision means that truck drivers do have a higher risk of occupation injury.
Trash collectors
People who earn a living by collecting trash and recycling face very high occupational injury rates. While some larger cities have trucks that can pick up specially designed cans, many workers still must pick up heavy cans, yard waste and debris. This puts them at risk for muscle strains and pulls.
In addition, constantly hopping on and off the truck puts them in a position to sprain, twist or break an ankle. Trash collectors also face the same risk as truck drivers in suffering a sudden injury in a motor vehicle accident.
Office workers
Office workers also face high rates of occupational injury. Poor posture from staring at a computer screen increases the risk of back or neck problems. Employees who type all day can develop carpal tunnel syndrome. Slips and falls are also very common causes of occupational injury in the workplace.
Physical therapy can help patients who have suffered an injury on the job. Specific job-related tasks are practiced under the eye of a therapist to assist in getting you back to work. Individual treatment plans are created based on the needs of the patient.
If you have recently suffered an occupational injury that is keeping you from working, contact Panther Physical Therapy today to set up your initial consultation.
Tags: occupational Injury, occupational therapy, Physical Therapist, Physical Therapy