The human body is capable of many things, but it can suffer injury when it is subjected to forces beyond its capacity. Harm from accidents and traumatic events often come to mind as significant tests for the body, but less dramatic events can also cause it to suffer wear and tear. In Pennsylvania and throughout the country, individuals suffer damaging harm when they overuse their bodies to the point of injury.
This post will explore what overuse injuries are and how they are sometimes attributable to the working conditions victims’ experience on the job. This post is not legal advice and should not be read as guidance for any workers’ compensation victim. When questions about injuries and work losses come up, it is important that victims seek out their own legal help.
What is an overuse injury?
Overuse injuries can impact practically any part of the human body. They develop when a body part is used, often incorrectly, over and over again. It is not uncommon for athletes to suffer overuse injuries, such as baseball pitchers’ suffering from shoulder problems. It is also not uncommon for workers who perform repetitive tasks to experience them in their arms, backs, hands, and legs.
What causes overuse injuries?
Overuse injuries happen quite simply from overuse. However, this is a simplification of the bigger problem. Using a body part in a certain way repeatedly may not always result in injury, but when certain factors are present, injury may be more likely. Those factors can include:
- Having the wrong training to safely do a movement
- Having the wrong equipment to safely do a movement
- Being forced to meet work expectations for production that do not allow for breaks from performing the movement
As readers may see, work-related overuse injuries can afflict individuals in many different employment arenas. For some victims, overuse injuries are the direct result of their job duties and factors imposed on them by their employers. Overuse injuries can serve as grounds for workers’ compensation claims that attorneys can counsel individuals on for case-specific advice.