INDUSTRY LED, RESULTS DRIVEN PAGE | 3
Long-term Effects
and Pain Management
"MSDs can be debilitating and life-altering injuries.
They can permanently affect a person's ability to
work and complete daily personal tasks," said Laura.
One challenge in preventing MSDs is that they often
develop gradually, so people do not always realize
when the damage is being done.
"Even though MSDs are discussed at work, I think
many employees, especially younger workers, don't
think about how an injury could affect them in the
future. They feel invincible," said Kathleen Couto,
Store Manager at Sobeys. Kathleen participated in
both the risk assessment and root-cause analysis
workshops. She believes that most grocery store
workers do not think about their risk of developing
an MSD until it is too late.
"My co-workers and I mostly think about the
obvious hazards that we can easily recognize,
such as a sharp blade that could cut our hand or
water on the floor that could cause a slip and fall.
We do not often think about MSDs," says Brittany
Marchese, a worker representative from Sobeys.
Brittany also participated in both workshops.
"I don't think many grocery store workers have a
good understanding of how MSDs could negatively
impact their lives in the future, particularly the
younger workers," says Brittany. "We are taught
proper lifting techniques, but we are not necessarily
aware of the severity of the consequences if those
techniques are not followed. We don't really see
why it matters until we start to experience pain."
"
"
"Participating in this initiative
really helped me understand
the causes and consequences
of MSDs. Most tasks in any
grocery store expose workers
to MSDs, so I'm very pleased
that we are focusing on
these hazards."
—Penny Neice, Worker Representative,
Metro
Laura agrees that workers need to have a better
understanding of MSDs in order to recognize
the risks. "The majority of workers do not know
what may cause an MSD within their tasks. And,
with MSDs typically being a delayed-onset injury,
workers need to know how to prevent these injuries
before they begin to experience the signs and
symptoms," said Laura.
Once a worker starts to feel pain, it usually means
the injury has already occurred. When identified
early and treated, workers have a good chance of
fully recovering. However, without intervention,
long-term symptoms such as chronic pain and
limited mobility can set in. It has become common
for workers in these situations to use pain
medication in order to cope with the pain and
continue to perform their job tasks. In fact, the
Institute for Work and Health (IWH) delved into
this topic to gain more insight into the link between
workplace injuries and opioid use. Their study
concluded that injured workers are at a higher risk
of experiencing opioid-related harms.
