People + Process = Performance

Stretching Programs—Can They Prevent Injuries?

 

Stretching—it’s something my husband and I do every day as part of our daily morning exercise routine.  I like to stretch as it loosens my back, shoulders and legs and gets me ready for the day.  He likes to stretch as it has helped him loosen up his back and prevent soreness.  Stretching certainly has a purpose for minimizing soreness and maintaining flexibility, especially as one gets older.  However, does it prevent injuries in the workplace?  If your job requires you to bend over and contort yourself while welding for hours each day or to lift heavy loads all day, does the risk for injury go away if you stretch? 

 

I am the ergonomics instructor for the American Foundry Society and questions about stretching programs routinely come up during the class.  During a recent class the questions that came up were:  Are stretching programs part of ergonomics?  What is the ROI of stretching programs?  Do they prevent back injuries?  If you’re a reader of my blog, you know I’ve addressed this topic a few times and my position on stretching programs in the workplace as a method to prevent injuries has not changed.  I do not advocate or endorse “stretch and flex” programs for injury prevention.  Instead of me restating my answers and reasons for not using stretching programs I will refer you to an article that was in the February 2015 newsletter for LHSFNA (Labors Health and Safety Fund of North America).  The article asked if stretching programs can prevent back injuries.  Below are some quotes from the article (emphasis added is mine):

 

·        Your risk of injury is related to the amount of force placed on the spine and muscles. Stretching does nothing to reduce the amount of force. That only happens through redesign of the job.

·        Studies on the benefits of stretching are complicated because such programs are often not started in isolation. There are often ergonomic changes made at the same time.

·        The costs of a stretching program sometimes go unrecognized. If each worker stretches 10 minutes each day, the costs add up quickly and that money could be better spent providing ergonomic solutions to reduce the risks.

·        All stretching is not alike. It may be more useful to have warm-up exercises than stretches. If stretches are done, they should be tailored to the type of work being performed. Overall fitness may be more important in terms of injury prevention than stretching certain muscles.

·        The actual benefits of a stretching program may come more from the opportunity to plan the day’s work during that time and build team cooperation.

·        In short, stretching does not help prevent back injuries. By focusing prevention efforts on improving individual workers rather than changing the work and reducing the risk, stretching programs fall into the “blame the worker” approach.

 

One additional point he made I found to most compelling.  He referenced the hierarchy of controls (i.e. eliminate, substitute, engineer, administrate and PPE).  He said, “…the best (most effective) solution is to eliminate the hazard. Below that is reducing the exposure using engineering controls or through a redesign of the process. Next are administrative controls like rotating workers to reduce their individual exposures. Providing personal protective equipment (PPE) can also help, but is lower on the hierarchy and considered less effective. Where would stretching be on the hierarchy of controls? If it appeared anywhere, stretching would be at the bottom, below even PPE.”  I’ve always thought the hierarchy below PPE was “Hope & Pray”—I guess I’ll need to add stretching between PPE and Hope & Pray.

 

The author of this article makes the same points about stretching programs as I have and continue to do.  So to summarize:

·        Stretching is not ergonomics—stretching is changing people, ergonomics is changing the job to fit the people. 

·        Stretching if done properly takes a good amount of time, at least 10 minutes—those 10-15 minutes add up in cost.  The annual total amount would be best spent on work redesign instead of trying to redesign people. 

·        Daily stand-up meetings, not stretching, where employees and supervisors discuss the work of the day is time well spent—for meeting production and safety goals.

·        The ROI of stretching programs for preventing injuries is not at all clear or conclusive.  However, the ROI of ergonomics project/programs is clear and conclusive.