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Ergonomic risks for young workers

"Youth and adolescents are routinely engaged in manual material handling (MMH) tasks that may exceed their strength capability to perform the task."

A new study from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee published in the January, 2010 issue of Applied Ergonomics explores whether youth have a higher risk for musculoskeletal injuries and disorders.

Dr. Arun Garg, the study's co-author, states that two factors increase young workers risk:

  1. Youth and adolescents have yet to reach their full potential in terms of muscle development.
  2. Cartilage endplates in the spine do not fully mature until about 20 years of age.

The younger the worker the more the greater the issues in terms of incomplete musculoskeletal development. These physiological issues are compounded by youth disproportionately populating jobs in the food service, retail, landscaping and construction sectors, where lifting, pulling and pushing are common tasks.

Training for youth needs to emphasize not only the hazards that may result in immediate injury but those work habits that may cause musculoskeletal disorders over time.

"It's easier to understand when you get a cut or a bone broken, but it's harder to understand an injury that is happening over time and to realize that there are long-term effects of injuries like that" say Clare Waddell, a youth education consultant for the Workers' Compensation Board of Prince Edward Island.

"There's also an attitude in youth of invincibility and generally overestimation of strength. So young workers are more likely to step into something and just try to do it, try to muscle through it" explains Daniel Robinson, a Canadian certified professional ergonomist.

Ultimately, the onus is on the employer to provide the best training possible, that includes lifting and moving techniques. Special training may also be required for using other tools in a way that prevent long term health issues. In particular work environments load restrictions may be required to protect those vulnerable and rest breaks enforced for physically demanding tasks.

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE

Additional Information:

Workers' Compensation Board of Prince Edward Island - youth web page

WorkSafeBC - Seven Top Dangers for youth