Page 22 - Occupational Health & Safety, February 2017

ERGONOMICS
Addressing early tells of a potential WMSD is crucial to preventing a mild strain from evolving into a permanent and irreversible injury.
Implementing a Successful Stretching Program
When implementing a stretching program, there are three key ele- ments to consider:
■ Leadership buy-in and support
■ A thoughtfully developed and task-focused stretching program
■ Frontline supervisor acceptance and reinforcement
Leadership buy-in is the most obvious requirement because without at least one champion within the upper echelon of an or- ganization, a stretching program would be doomed from the start. Taking valuable time from the day’s production can be a tough sell for stretching program advocates.
Leadership typically wants to see return-on-investment (ROI) data, and showing ROI on injury prevention is challenging. How- ever, an effective alternative is to show leadership the gaps that exist in your robust ergonomic program and offer a stretching program as a means to help fill those gaps.
Another area to emphasize is the role stretching programs can play in the early identification and intervention of WMSDs. When a team is gathered for the daily pre-shift stretching, it’s a great op-
portunity for an observant supervisor to dig a bit deeper with an employee, should the supervisor notice something amiss. If an em- ployee is struggling with an exercise or appears to be in discomfort, the supervisor can have a quick conversation to find out what’s go- ing on. Addressing those early tells of a potential WMSD is crucial to preventing a mild strain from evolving into a permanent and irreversible injury.
With leadership on board, the focus can shift toward creat- ing a sound and task-specific stretching regimen. Since few em- ployers have on-staff expertise in body mechanics and exercise program creation, it’s important to seek input from those who specialize in this area. In addition, there are some legitimate con- cerns that stretching can cause or exacerbate injuries, which is another important reason to partner with an organization that will bring credentialed resources on site to analyze the tasks being performed and create a stretching program tailored to the needs of your workforce.
The partnerships with consultants who specialize in this are of- ten ongoing. They’re brought in initially to do the observations and analysis to get a program started. Then, as new tasks are introduced, they return to ensure the components of the stretching program are keeping pace with the changing landscape of the workplace.
Because each workplace and workforce is unique, there’s not a one-size-fits all or “canned” stretching program that employers can simply bolt on. Through task analysis and workforce evaluation,
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