Musculoskeletal Injuries: A Case Study

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Recommended: Special equipment in the patient care environments

Musculoskeletal associated back injuries in nurses, related to patient handling, have been a major concern in the health care field. There are multiple strategies available for nurses to implement that decrease their probability of injury. According to Nelson and Baptiste (2004), work-related musculoskeletal disorders in nursing continue to rise. Disabling back injury and back pain affect 38% of nursing staff (Brown, 2003). Musculoskeletal injuries are completely preventable and are a problem that should be eradicated from the health care field. Proper training on the use of body mechanics as it pertains to lifting, moving, and maneuvering patients is insufficient. To date, interventions with the strongest level of evidence for safe patient handling that reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injury among nurses include: (a) patient care ergonomic assessment protocols, (b) use of patient handling equipment/devices, (c) clinical tools, such as algorithms and patient assessment protocols to aid in implementation, and (d) no manual lift policies, once all other program components are in place (Powell-Cope, l, 2Hughes, Senlac, & Nelson, 2008). …show more content…

Purchasing the equipment to resolve this problem appears costly in the beginning, but the benefits of use substantially outweigh the purchase price. Musculoskeletal injuries are among the most common and costly injuries affecting hospital personnel. Injuries can lead to thousands of dollars in expense to the employer, per staff member injured, due to time off, temporary staffing, medical expenses, and compensation claims. According to a study by Aon, injuries such as these can cost the employer approximately 12,000 dollars, per employee, per incident (OSHA.gov). With studies presenting hospitals among the most injurious places to work, the actual expense is

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