Get workers moving to reduce workplace injuries

You've probably heard that sitting is the new smoking. Actually,that's a bit of a misnomer.

It's not the sitting in and of itself that is the problem, it'sthe sedentary lifestyle many people lead.

The complete lack of movement is causing a variety of healthproblems — and upping the number and costs of workers' compensationclaims.

Constant movement and good posture are needed to reduce theincreased morbidity and mortality from sitting. Employers whounderstand this and implement simple, inexpensive changes in theirworkplaces can make a significant impact on the health andwell-being of their employees — and reduce their overallhealthcare and workers' compensation costs.

The problem

“Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people thanHIV, and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sittingourselves to death.”

In his 2014 comment, the Mayo Clinic's Dr. James Levine soughtto draw attention to the problem of prolonged sitting. Healthexperts had known about the conditions associated with non-movementfor years, but Levine's words caught on with the masses.

Taking 10,000 steps per day has become the new mantra for manypeople trying to get or stay fit; it equates to about 5 miles. Somepeople do more than that, depending on their goals. But many peoplewho don't take action to counteract their sedentary lifestyles findthemselves with unexplainable pain and discomfort.

“Your hip flexors and hamstring muscles get tight; you start tohave back issues. The decreased mobility leads to weakness in themuscles, you get low back pain,” said Daniel Sanchez, vicepresident of Operations for OnSite Physio, and a physical therapistby background. “People sit all day and don't move. Then theydevelop these problems and don't know what to attribute them to;they can't pinpoint where it's coming from. They are just notthinking about their prolonged sitting.”

The increase in lower back injuries can be traced to today'ssedentary lifestyle. (Photo: iStock)

Ailments

The list of physical problems at least partly attributable tosedentary living is long. In addition to conditions you mightexpect, such as low back pain, strained neck and shoulders, and hippain, there are a variety of others that have been linked tolong-term sitting.

“A sedentary lifestyle is the single biggest risk factor forcancers, cardiac disease, diabetes — you name it,”said Dr. Teresa Bartlett, senior vice president, medical officer atSedgwick. Also on the list of conditions associated with prolongednon-movement are brain decline, depression, varicose veins, weakbones, and digestion problems, to name a few.

“The statistics by the National Institute of Occupational Safetyand Health say in developed countries, including the U.S., peoplesit for an average of six-and-a-half to eight hours a day; that'sabout 55% of their day being sedentary,” Bartlett said. “Even ifthose people work out, it doesn't mitigate the risk.”

The physical problems connected to physical inaction translateto mounting healthcare costs. Workers' compensation payers candirectly attribute some of their expenses to sedentarybehaviors.

“From an injury perspective, we've seen repetitive stressinjuries — repeated physical movements that can damage tendons,muscles, nerves in the back, shoulders and arms — the upperextremities,” said Jean Brajuha, vice president of operations forRestore Rehabilitation. “With upper extremity issues, a lot has todo with workstation set-up and how well that is designed for thatperson. If you're in a sedentary manner and not walking for longperiods of time, not lifting a lot — that's what sedentary isclassified as — you're still in a situation where you are usingyour upper body. On an assembly line, for example, we see a lot ofthose issues.”

Brajuha works closely with older workers who have developed suchissues over time and eventually are unable to do jobs they haveheld for years or even decades. Sometimes job modifications can bemade, but often that's not the case.

“In vocational placement, you are then trying to help someoneover 50 change his career and look for a different type ofposition,” she said. “It's quite a bit of a challenge finding agood job for someone who is making a change so late in life.”

The research

A new study provided strong evidence that being sedentary leadsto mobility loss in older age. The retrospective study, publishedin the Journals of Gerontology: Medical Science, foundthat older people who spent more than five hours a day watching TVand fewer than three hours in physical activity per week increasedtheir risk of mobility disability by 65%.

“Our findings indicate that sedentary time is a potent riskfactor for mobility loss in older age that is independent oflight-intensity and moderate- to vigorous-intensity physicalactivity, as well as sex, educational attainment, smoking, andprevailing health status,” the authors said.

But changing lifestyles are expanding the group of peopleaffected. Increasingly, more young workers have the sameproblems.

“Think about how long these younger workers have been oncomputers and video games for hours on end before getting into thework environment. By the time they get to work they've reached theage where they've already been working all those muscles andtendons — overworking them a long time,” said Sebastian Grassopresident/founder of Windham Group, a case management company “Theyfile workers' compensation claims; but you can push back, sincethey've been on computers for 5 hours a day [before they startedworking].”

Some companies are providing office workers with standingdesks. (Photo: iStock)

Getting workers to move

Movement is the key to prevent ailments caused by staying in oneposition too long. Employers are beginning to use a variety oftactics to encourage workers to increase their mobility.

“We tell them to set up copiers and printers as far away aspossible; don't give everybody a printer on their desks,” Grassosaid. “That encourages movement and getting out of the workenvironment.”

Establishing walking meetings and encouraging workers to walkover to colleagues to speak with them directly instead of emailingare other ways employers are encouraging mobility.

“What I'm seeing is a big movement with our clients to havewalking trails around pathways, even on the carpet or stairs, thattell people the distance and how often,” Bartlett said. “Also, atleast three of our large clients actually have the treadmillworkstation. It's got a 2-mph governor on it, a docking station anda phone hookup where you can put the headset on and walk, type andtalk. There are several clients who have adopted their conferencerooms with these.”

Although sit-stand desks are effective and popular, they can becost prohibitive for some employers. Many companies have installeda handful of these throughout the workspace for employees to usewhen they want a break from sitting.

A rule of thumb from the experts is to at least take afive-minute break for each hour of sitting. That can help the bodyand clear the mind too.

“Standing breaks and taking a minute to stretch are effective,”Sanchez said. “There are even some computer programs that willfreeze the monitor unless the worker stops and takes a stretchbreak.”

Nancy Grover is the founder and president of NMG Consulting, a media/communications entity based inFlorida. She can be reached at [email protected].

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