MHE510, Occupational Health and Safety, Mod 2 Case Assignment Essay

MHE510, Occupational Health and Safety, Mod 2 Case Assignment - Essay Example Twisting and turning or chronically lifting heavy materials can cause chronic pain. People who normally have a sedentary lifestyle also have a tendency to have low back pain, especially when there is a sudden injury or when there is periodic heavy work between (Hills, 2010). The CDC lists 5 physical workforce factors that affect eventual back pain issues. These include heavy physical work, lifting and forceful movements, bending and twisting in awkward positions, whole body vibration, and static work postures. During studies each of these proved to be a problem that created back pain (CDC, 1997), of 18 studies done, 13 showed strong evidence for this. Our worker lifts heavy boxes regularly, he also works in the warehouse and performs other types of heavy labor. We know little about what he is like at home and there is a belief that he may have fallen at home. He is now complaining of chronic low back pain. Do we know what has caused this musculoskeletal disorder? This is a man who is at great risk for MSD due to the type of work that he does. He does heavy labor and he lifts on a regular basis. It must be considered that certainly whatever has caused his back pain, this is a contributing factor. One of the questions that has to be ask here is whether or not precautions have been taken in helping to protect this employee. Is he wearing back support? Has there been instruction for the employee in proper lifting techniques? Are regular breaks being taken? Is the company doing pre-employment physicals and if so, has this been a prior problem for this employee? It is not always clear what actually has caused the pain. There are some distinctions that need to be made and those include the presence of the symptoms and when they started, when it was reported, whether the employee attributes the symptoms or the original injury to work or "the fall", what the