Hand And Wrist Injuries In The Workplace

We tend to perform a lot of repetitive actions while we are at the workplace. Whether it is typing, lifting up boxes, or factory line work, the actions we perform can cause us to become injured if we are not careful. With regular health and safety training in the workplace, workers will understand how to perform their duties without injuring themselves. Below are some of the tips which are taught during health and safety training sessions to avoid hand and wrist injuries in the work place. By following these safety tips you will be able to perform your duties without compromising the function of your body.

Health and Safety Training sessions should outline the various common hand injuries that workers can succumb to if they are not careful. By outlining the hazards that can cause injury to your wrists or hands workers will take precaution to avoid them.  Health and safety training will also encourage workers to use protective hand gear to prevent injuries to the fingers, wrists and hands. The index and thumb are the fingers that get injured the most frequently. Hand and wrist injuries are the second most prominent cause of workers taking leave, after neck and back injuries.  Health and safety training will reduce the amount of workers taking leave from work by teaching them easy to follow safety procedures in the workplace.

Strains, sprains, skin irritations, burns, lacerations, cuts, and broken bones are just some of the conditions you can suffer from if you do not take safety precautions while working.  It is crucial that workers treat even the smallest arm or wrist injury right away to prevent it from developing into something more serious.  Health and safety training guidelines encourage workers to take note of heat and electrical sources, sharp objects, and how to utilize machinery in the proper manner. By following all of these steps you can avoid a serious wrist or arm injury.  

Using gloves that are too big or too small can strain your arm and wrist muscles. Gloves can get caught in machinery and drag your hand in as well. Do not assume that just because you are wearing gloves you are safe from injury. Safety training will emphasize the point that wearing gloves reduces the likelihood of injuries but cannot prevent them.  While using gloves to protect yourself from chemicals and toxic waste, safety training guidelines recommend that you dispose of the gloves in a proper manner. By not doing the following you could risk exposing your co-workers to harmful chemicals. Safety training experts suggest that when removing gloves that you’ve used for handling chemicals, use your thumb and forefinger to roll down the first glove. Once you’ve rolled it down a little you can remove the other glove. You will be able to utilize your bare hand to touch the rolled down part of the glove to remove the remaining glove off your hand.

Now that you have learned some of the essential Health and Safety Training tips to avoid hand and wrist injuries you should make sure to conduct sessions regularly within your workplace. If you are a worker you can contact your human resources department to initiate this training. If you are an employer you can browse online for a number of helpful health and safety training tools to conduct your sessions. Trainer guides, safety posters and safety awareness DVDs will make your health and safety training sessions easy to conduct.