New tool hopes to assess gradual injuries before they begin
Sometimes, accidents at Arizona job sites happen in an instant. Often, though, office workers experience more gradual injuries, issues that build up over time after lots of repetitive movement or strain. University researchers have come up with what they hope will be a useful tool to quickly and easily determine stress damage caused by computer programs.
Office workers who remain at their desks and use computers for several hours every workday are prone to wrist and hand problems. While these injuries gradually develop over time, they can eventually turn into debilitating issues that make it difficult to continue working. To measure and identify stress caused by faulty ergonomics, researchers have created what they have called the Self-report Ergonomic Assessment Tool, or SEAT.
SEAT will look at factors like bad posture, pain and other stressors, and it is intended to help workers self-report any strain or discomfort. The SEAT method requires no special training and is faster and less expensive than similar tools. The hope is that software can be fixed before it is released to market, preventing poor ergonomics or repetitive strain from leading to a host of these types of gradual injuries that build up over time but have a severe end result, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
The researchers hope that their new tool, if it becomes widely embraced, can even help prevent these types of gradual injuries before they begin. In the meantime, though, any Arizona workers who find themselves facing illness or injury brought on by their job may be entitled to workers’ compensation to help cover medical expenses and lost wages. In such cases, a workers’ comp attorney could help injured employees fight for the maximum amount of benefits to which they are entitled.
Source: upi.com, “New tool could help prevent work-related hand, wrist injuries“, Amy Wallace, May 30, 2017
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