Question

Discuss how ergonomic practices can reduce injury to muscles. Identify the major muscle groups most affected by improper work place posture. Also, identify the terms associated with injuries to these muscles groups and explain the word parts of each.

Answer 1

Good ergonomic practices can reduce injury to muscles. Proper ergonomic practices improve the utilization of the inhibited muscles and decrease the tightness of the opposition muscles. Ergonomic injuries due to awkward sustained posture, contact pressure, excessive strain etc can be overcome by good ergonomic practices. These injuries including repetitive motion injuries, repetitive stress injuries, musculoskeletal disorders etc can be avoided by following proper ergonomic practices. When the body is properly positioned with the required breaks and short stretches, the otherwise affected muscles will be relaxed without any stiffness or injury. The major muscle groups most affected by improper work place posture are the neck and back muscle groups. The injuries to these muscles groups include musculoskeletal disorders caused by sustained awkward postures, which means injuries to the musculoskeletal system caused by sitting for a prolonged period of time in a non-ergonomic position. Muscle strain also called pulled muscle occurs due to overstretching because of overuse, fatigue, or improper use. Repetitive motion injuries are also caused by non-ergonomic practices. This means repeated use a particular muscle causes muscle injury.