Industrial Athletes

(Firefighter competition, n.d.)

Athletic Therapy and Rehabilitation

Jessica Smith & Sarah Eckert

 Athletic Therapy
 Prevention, assessment,
treatment, reconditioning of
musculoskeletal injuries (The
Canadian Athletic Therapy Association, 2005)
 Traditional roles
 Current trends

(Therapy clinic, n.d.)

 Ergononomics
 Ergon = Greek for work, nomos = law
(Dul & Weerdmeester, 2001)
 Also called human factors (Dul & Weerdmeester, 2001)
• Interaction between humans and a system (International
Ergonomics Association, 2000)
• Application of theory, principles, data and design to
optimize well-being and performance (International Ergonomics
Association, 2000)

• Design and evaluation of tasks, jobs, products,

environments and systems to fit the needs, abilities and
limitations of people (International Ergonomics Association, 2000)
 History of Ergonomics
 1706 - Bernardo Ramazzini, Italian physician (Lagerlof, 2000)
 father of occupational health (Lagerlof, 2000)
 wrote about office work (Lagerlof, 2000)
• Work related musculoskeletal disorders (Lagerlof, 2000)
• Sustained postures (Lagerlof, 2000)
• Repetitive movements (Lagerlof, 2000)
• Attention and application of the mind (Lagerlof, 2000)
 Recognized field during Second World War
(Dul & Weerdmeester, 2001)

 1961 - International Ergonomics Association (IEA) (Dul

& Weerdmeester, 2001)
 The Industrial Athlete
 Those people whose
jobs require strength,
agility, and stamina in a
variety of industrial
sectors (Robinette, 2007)
 Ie. Emergency services
personnel, health
workers, logging
industry, manufacturing
etc.
(Manufacturing, n.d.)
 Work Hardening
(Guidelines: occupational health, n.d.)

 Interdisciplinary
 Addresses the physical,
functional, behavioural
and vocational needs of
the injured worker
 Global outcome of
return to work

(Singles firefighter, 2007)

 Work related injuries in Canada
(Occupational injuries, 2007)

 In 2005:
• 994,886 claims reported
• 337,930 time-loss injuries
accepted
• 2.59% of workers accepted
• $ 6,777,100,000 in
compensation

(Money stacked, n.d.)

 Breakdown by Industry
(National Work Injuries Statistics Program, 2007)

 Logging – 2,684 (.79%)

 Mining/oil – 3,342 (.99%)
 Business – 10,370 (3%)
 Accommodation/food& beverage – 19,372 (5.7%)
 Government – 20,956 (6.2%)
 Transportation – 24,652 (7.3%)
 Construction – 32,642 (9.7%)
 Retail – 40,261 (11.9%)
 Health/Social Service – 41,261 (12.2%)
 Manufacturing – 80,193 (23.7%)
Risk Factors for Musculoskeletal Disorders
(Introduction, 1997)

 Physical
 Work
 Organizational
 Psychosocial
 Individual
 Sociocultural

(Psychologist, n.d.)
 Work-related Repetitive Strain Injuries
(Cole et al., 2005)

 5.5% reported new RSI

 Men vs women (4.3 vs 7.2 %)
• Wrist/hand – 36.8%
• Shoulder/upper arm – 20.0%
• Elbow/lower arm – 14.8%
• Lower back – 11%
• Upper back – 4.5%
• Knee/lower leg – 6.6%
• Neck/other – 6.5%
 College/University education
 Contributing Factors
(Dul & Weerdmeester, 2001)

 Posture & Movement

• Biomechanical, physiological, anthropometric
• Posture
• Movement
 Environment
• Noise, vibration, lighting, climate
 Work organization, jobs & tasks
• Tasks
• Jobs
• Work organization
 Posture
(Dul & Weerdmeester, 2001)

 Sitting
 Standing
 Change of posture
 Hand & arm postures

(Revans, head in hands, n.d.)

 Movement
(Dul & Weerdmeester, 2001)

 Lifting
 Carrying
 Pulling & pushing

(Heavy lifting, n.d.)

 Athletic Therapy in the
Industrial Setting
(Services, n.d.)

 Medical management
 Onsite rehab
 Early recognition and
intervention
 First aid
 Wellness & health
promotion
 Ergonomics
 Fitness

(Work hardening, n.d.)

 Literature Controversies
 Empirical research has thoroughly identified
injury risk factors but practical application for
prevention is lacking (Feuerstein & Harrington, 2006)

(Microsoft Office clip art, 2007)

 Overview
It has been found that injured workers that do
not return to work have
 a lower quality of life
 feel they have less control over their injury
 distorted illness perception
(Sluiter & Frings-Dresen, 2007)

(Microsoft Office clip art, 2007)

 Industrial Assessment
History
• Injury type, rehabilitation prescription, return to work
(RTW)
 MOI
• Detailed, tasks, repetition
 Pain
• Postures

(Microsoft Office clip art, 2007)

(Fialka-Moser,Herceg & Hartter, 2006)
 Rehabilitation
Factors that influence Success:
 Psychological Factors
 Rehab Program Factors
 Workplace

(Fialka-Moser,Herceg & Hartter, 2006)

(Microsoft Office clip art, 2007)
 Psychological Factors
 Functional perception (Fialka-Moser,Herceg & Hartter, 2006)
• Light duties
 Attitude (Fialka-Moser,Herceg & Hartter, 2006)
• Towards job, boss, fellow employees
 Expectations (Andersson, 1981)
• Environment, task requirements, employer

(Fialka-Moser,Herceg & Hartter, 2006)

 Rehabilitation Factors
 Type of measure
 Timing
 Work place knowledge
 Program completion
 Patient satisfaction

(Industrial rehabilitation, n.d.)

(Fialka-Moser,Herceg & Hartter, 2006)

 Work-place Factors
 Change/type of job
 Early-return to work
 Unscheduled breaks
 Public vs private
 Benefit status
 Level of compensation (Community Memorial, n.d.)
 Unemployment rates
(Fialka-Moser,Herceg & Hartter, 2006)
 Industry and AT
Injured workers are considered industrial
athletes when the principles of sport medicine
are applied and adapted to them
Including
 Effective Prevention
 Pre-emtive intervention and identification
 Specific Conditioning
 Progressive treatments

(Sevier, Wilson & Helfst, 1999)

 Work Harding
 Correcting muscular imbalance
 Functional neuromuscular control
 Strengthening
 Flexibility to decrease injury risk
 Reduce fascial adhesions to prevent future
injuries
 Goal of quick return to the work team
(Sevier, Wilson & Helfst, 1999)
 Current Applications
UPS
• High injury rate noted
• Ergonomic risk factors
identified
• External multi-disciplinary
team hired
• Intervention
– 1-on-1 counseling
– Prevention (Retrieved on March 30, 2008 from
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/26/fashion/26Fitness.
– Intervention html?n=Top/News/Business/Companies/FedEx
%20Corporation)
– Post- rehabilitative education
(Robinette, 2007)
 UPS
• Work Factors Indentified
– 125 miles walked annually
– 1,000,000 lbs lifted
– 20 lbs average package Wight (350 daily)
• Warm up drill
– Three minutes
– Increase ROM (job specific)
• Athletic Training Clinics
– Posture, ROM, Strength, Core, lift techniques
• Hydration/ Nutrition
• Newsletter
(Robinette, 2007) (Retrieved on March 30, 2008 from
www.nytimes.com)
 Results
 Change from 48th/50 to first for WCB costs
 50% reduction in injury rates in first year
 85% in second year
 60% reduction in works compensation costs in
2005
(Robinette, 2007)

(Microsoft Office clip art, 2007)

 Employment
 Ergo Risk
 Association of Canadian Ergonomists
 The Industrial Athlete
 Bowing
 Mills
 Factories
 Corporations
 Emergency Services
 CATA/NATA
(Microsoft Office clip art, 2007)
The specific application of the assessment and
rehabilitation of industrial athletes will be
covered in lab tomorrow.
 Useful Websites
 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/
 Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)
http://www.ccohs.ca/
 National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA)
http://www.nata.org/
 Canadian Athletic Therapy Association (CATA) http://athletictherapy.org/
 ErgoRisk
http://www.ergorisk.com/
 Association of Canadian Ergonomists (ACE)
http://www.ace-ergocanada.ca/index.php 
Questions....and answers!

(Microsoft Office clip art, 2007)

 References
Andersson, G. B. (1981). Epidemiologic aspects on low-back pain in industry, Spine, 6, 53-60.

Cole, D., Ibrahim, S., & Shannon, H.S. (2005). Predictors of work-related repetitive strain injuries in a population cohort. American Journal of Public

Health, 95(7), 1233-1237.

Community Memorial (n.d.). Work hardening.Retreived on March 30, 2008, from http://www.communitymemorial.com/pics/services/hardening.jpg

Dul, J. & Weerdmeester, B. (2001). Ergonomics for beginners (2 nd ed.). New York: Taylor & Francis.

Feuestein M. & Harrington, C. B. (2006) Secondary prevention of work-related upper extremity disorders: recommendations from the Annapolis conference.

Journal of occupational rehabilitation, 16(3), 401-409.

Fialka-Moser, V., Herceg, M., & Hartter, E. (2006) Vocational rehabilitation and low back pain. In C. Gobelet & F. Franchignoni (Ed.), Vocational

Rehabilitation (pp. 131-136). Paris, FR: Springer.

Firefighter competition. (n.d.) Retrieved March 10, 2008, from

http://www.flickr.com/photos/celticman/182022803/

International Ergonomics Association. (2000). What is ergonomics. Retrieved March 29,2008, from

http://www.iea.cc/browse.php?contID=what_is_ergonomics

Introduction. (1997). In B.P. Bernard (Ed.), Musculoskeletal disorders and workplace factors: a critical review of epidemiologic evidence for work-related

musculoskeletal disorders of the neck, upper extremity and low back (pp.1-1-1-14). Cincinnati, Ohio: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Guidelines: occupational health physical therapy: work conditioning and work hardening programs. (n.d.) Retrieved March 28, 2008, from

http://www.apta.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Policies_and_Bylaws&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=26229

Heavy lifting. (n.d.). Retrieved March30, 2008, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/sashamd/229465904/  

 References Cont’d
Lagerlof, E. (2000). Preface. In F. Violante (Ed.), Occupational ergonomics : work related musculoskeletal disorders (pp. Viii). London, UK: CRC Press

Memorial Industrial rehab.(n.d.) Retrieved March10, 2008 from http://www.industrialrehab.org/industrialrehab.htm

Manufacturing. (n.d.) Retrieved March 30, 2008, from

http://www.hrltd.com.au/minigen/resources/manufacturing.jpg

Money stacked. (n.d.) Retrieved March 30, 2008, from

http://dollarsbomb.com/graphics/money-stacked.jpe

National Work Injuries Statistics Program. (2007). Number of accepted time-loss injuries, by industry and province, 2004-2006. Retrieved March 29, 2008,

from

http://www.awcbc.org/common/assets/english%20pdf/lti_accomodation.pdf

Occupational injuries and diseases in Canada, 1996-2005. (2007). Retrieved March 28, 2008, from

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/labour/publications/health_safety/oidc/page06.shtml

Psychologist. (n.d.) Retrieved March 30, 2008, from http://www.gahec.org/nchc/photos/Psychologist.jpg

Revans, head in hands. (n.d.) Retrieved March 30, 2008, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharynmorrow/243411028/
 References Cont.
Robinette, Z. (2007). Training the industrial athlete: fitness training at UPS. Retrieved March 28, 2008, from

http://www.ohsonline.com/articles/46716/

Services. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2008, from http://www.theindustrialathlete.com/webservices.asp

Sevier, T.L., Wilson, J. K. & Helfst, B. (1999). The industrial athlete? Work, 15(3), 203-207. Singles firefighter. (2007).

Retrieved March 30, 2008, from

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/20070510/226singles_firefighter_18.jpg

Sluiter, J. K. & Frings-Dresen, M. H. W. (2007). Quality of life and illness perception in working and sick-listed chronic RSI

patients. International archives of occupational and environmental health, 81(4), 495-501..

The Canadian Athletic Therapy Association. (2005). What is an athletic therapist? Retrieved February 29, 2008, from

http://www.athletictherapy.org/main.html

Therapy clinic. (n.d.) Retrieved March 30, 2008, from

http://www.loyalistc.on.ca/athletics/index_e.aspx?DetailId=630

Workj hardening. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2008, from

http://www.ipmr.org/graphics/RTWpics/workhardening.jpg