The Nurse’s Aching Back
Nursing can be a very physical job. The stress and strain of lifting patients and performing other physical work can result in a sudden injury or chronic back problems. We represent health care employees employed by the federal government who are seeking compensation for work-related injuries. Nursing personnel have the highest incidence rate of workers’ compensation claims for back injuries of any occupation, according to a blog by the University of Minnesota.
Surveys have shown that 52 percent of nurses complain of chronic back pain, with lifetime prevalence up to 80 percent, and 38 percent of nurses report having work-related back pain so severe they need to stop working for a time. For some nurses, back pain caused them to leave the profession (12 percent in one survey), and 20 percent have reported changing to a different unit, position or employment because of back pain.
The most common cause of injury in health care is the manual handling of patients, according to the blog. Back injuries are aggravated by working in awkward postures with very repetitive or forceful exertions. Compounding the problem is increased obesity in the population, resulting in heavier patients.
With hospitals working with less staff, more nurses are getting injured. According to this blog, a study of 21 hospitals in Minnesota’s Twin Cities found that when RN positions were decreased by nine percent, work-related illnesses and injuries among nurses increased by 65 percent. With more nurses reaching retirement age, many of those still working will be dealing with more stress on their backs.
Teaching lifting techniques has not been successful in affecting injury rates, according a study cited by the blog, as heavier or uncooperative patients and the workplace environment may make it difficult to use the proper lifting technique.
Though hospitals have equipment to lift patients, barriers to their use include patients’ dislike of them, the equipment’s difficulty to use and store, time constraints, an insufficient number of lifting devices, inadequate training, difficulty in controlling the devices in small spaces and weight limitations.
Despite their limitations, many studies have shown that the availability and use of mechanical patient lifts significantly reduce back and other injuries. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends that manual lifting of residents in nursing homes be minimized and eliminated when feasible. Improving room design and the use of adjustable equipment (beds, chairs, poles, etc.) could also prevent some back injuries by preventing unhealthy body postures.
Nurses should be able to focus on improving the health of their patients, not on maintaining their own health. Until health care facilities are properly staffed, managed and equipped, nurses’ backs may bear the brunt of these problems.
Contact Uliase & Uliase
At Uliase & Uliase, our attorneys have considerable knowledge of the laws governing federal workers. To schedule an appointment, contact our office online or call us at (856) 310-9002. We will meet with you weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. We offer a free consultation for injured workers.
