Injury among Diagnostic Medical Sonographers

Injury among Diagnostic Medical Sonographers

Introduction

It is well recognized that the practice of diagnostic medical sonography has been associated with significant risk for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSD). Research displays that 84% of clinical sonographers know-how agony related to their profession. Of those, twenty percent suffer career-ending injuries. (Pike, Russo, Berkowitz, Baker, & Lessoway) Workforce shortages are affecting productivity, patient care and reimbursement revenue. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) have written a paper on sonography injury and how to prevent it. (Environment of Care News, 2006) Other legislative efforts have been ongoing in an effort to address this serious occupational health issue.

Risk factors for occupational injury include forceful exertions, awkward postures, repetitive motions, and 'pinched' or 'expanded' grip. (Department of Industrial Relations Cal/OSHA, 1999) The accumulated exposure to one or more of these risk factors over time leads to injury because repeated exposure interferes with the ability of the body to recover. Due to the chronic, cumulative nature of exposure to risk factors among sonography professionals, seemingly healthy persons are exposed to occupational hazards without apparent effect because of the body's ability to compensate. However, over time the chronic exposure results in pain inflammation, swelling, and deterioration of tendons and ligaments, which further stresses muscles and joints. In sonographers, the most common injuries are shoulder bursitis and tendonitis, neck and back strains, carpal and cubital tunnel and epicondylitis of the elbow. Treatment for work-related musculoskeletal disorders has a poor outcome because the worker is often sent back to the same work environment that initially produced the injury or intervention is done too late. Therefore, it is important to avert these injuries.

Body Awareness

The first step is to develop body awareness so that you know what postures you are assuming and recognize the onset of pain. Prolonged patterns of pain are injury producing, so we must develop an early awareness of pain. Working through pain for extended periods can cause a 'shut-down' in the ability to recognize the body's pain signals. Additionally, pain can alter the brain to facilitate or enhance pain pathways creating chronic pain syndromes, making it especially important to identify and intervene at the onset of pain. Developing an awareness of posture will also increase your awareness of pain signals. It is vital that changes in positioning be made at the onset of pain to avoid injury-producing situations. The aim is to bypass a debilitating injury. Like any of life's crises, until you've been through it, you can't ever imagine the impact a debilitating injury will have on your life. In reality, the effects of injury include suffering chronic pain, potential financial hardship, and a seriously altered lifestyle with possible permanent disability.

Self Care

Self-care for the prevention of work-related injury encompasses both the physical and emotional. Psychosocial stressors play an important role in our risk for injury as well as the perception of our symptoms. Stress assists to musculoskeletal wound through muscle tightness and ...