Manufacturing workers in Arizona can suffer from a lot of repetitive motion injuries. The human body requires changes in movement, and performing the same motion over and over puts too much stress on muscles and joints. Unfortunately, manufacturing workers are often required to do very repetitive tasks for many hours in a row.

Here are four ways that both employers and employees can help to prevent repetitive motion injuries:

#1: Ergonomics

Using ergonomics is all about fitting a workstation to the human body rather than expecting the human body to adapt to the workstation. In other words, workers shouldn’t have to reach or bend uncomfortably to perform regular tasks. Workstations should be designed so that workers using them can easily maintain proper body mechanics.

#2: Proper body mechanics

Even if you have the most ergonomically designed workstation, you can still injure yourself if you are using poor body mechanics. Manufacturing employers can help to prevent repetitive stress injuries by training their employees on good posture and lifting techniques.

#3: Stretches and breaks

Manufacturing workers should be encouraged to take little breaks throughout their shift to walk around and stretch. Sometimes working continuously can cause a worker to get stuck in one position. Getting up and moving around can reset the body and prevent injuries.

#4: Job rotation

A lot of manufacturing work involves repetitive tasks, but that doesn’t mean that workers have to be confined to just one task. If workers are allowed to rotate between a few different jobs, this can prevent fatigue by allowing workers to use different muscles throughout the day.

Resting after a work injury

When your muscles feel tired, your body may be telling you that it’s time to rest. If you end up getting injured from repetitive work, it’s even more important to take that rest your body needs. Manufacturing workers that have been injured by repetitive motion might want to seek workers’ compensation benefits.