Injuries to your joints, tendons, ligaments, and muscles can result in a loss of mobility. That doesn’t mean just being unable to work as an electrician; it means being unable to live independently, so, the stakes are high. The injuries can be acute (as in the case of a torn ligament), or they can be chronic (as in repeated micro-injuries to a tendon that result in progressive deterioration and persistent inflammation).
People seem to be attentive to the hazards when installing 4-inch rigid metal conduit (RMC), let’s say. Common sense tells us this heavy stuff could hurt us. Much less attention is paid when working with half-inch tubing. But running, bending, hanging, and connecting stick after stick of EMT all day puts a huge stress on joints, tendons, ligaments, and muscles.
Back
Back pain is a common complaint among all workers, not just electricians. If you’ve seen X-rays of the human back, you know it’s a bunch of bones (vertebrae) stacked into a sort of S-shape. Connective tissues and muscles can move these bones, but they also serve to keep them in place by counterbalancing forces. If you pull a muscle or strain a tendon, the forces don’t counterbalance anymore, and the bones misalign. The pain is often excruciating.
It’s not just your back muscles that are involved in keeping your back aligned, however. Computer modeling has proven that the spine, its connective tissues, and the back muscles are not enough to support the loads electricians typically lift when, for example, running raceway. In fact, if the spine had to rely on only these structures, it would snap. That outcome is prevented by the intra-abdominal pressure generated by the abdominal muscles.
The ab muscle that contributes the most is the transversus abdominis. When lifting something, listen to your inner drill sergeant, and suck in that gut — this will contract the transversus abdominis and help provide the protective pressure. You can train this muscle to support your back, even when you’re not lifting, and it’s a good idea to do so. The exercise is called the vacuum. You can do it anywhere, with no special equipment. Simply try to pull your belly button up and back by sucking your abs up and back.
Another key player is the rectus abdominis muscle. It allows you to rotate your trunk. What you want to do is lock this muscle when lifting, thus preventing your trunk from rotating.
Neck
Your head is about the size and weight of a bowling ball. That’s a lot of load for your neck to bear with its many small bones.
One function of your neck is to act as a shock absorber. For example, some of the shock transmitted through the feet and on up the spine dissipates in the neck before it gets to the brain. If there’s a blow to your head, your neck absorbs much of that shock also. Your hardhat’s suspension system reduces how much force the neck is subjected to if you bang your head.
However, blows are not the main danger to the neck in electrical work — strain is. The strain comes from having your neck in one position too long. Have you ever noticed the head forward posture that people have when they are staring into their mobile phone or working at a computer? This posture strains the connective tissues of the neck. So does arcing your neck backward, commonly done to look up at a steep angle. Some neck protection tips include:
• Protect against head forward strain with this simple exercise. Pull your chin back and slightly down; you should feel this in the back of your neck.
• For more protection, add the following exercise. Use your hands to push your head gently to the front, back, and sides. Then, without your hands, rotate your head and gently go as far as your neck will allow.
• Vary your work position often, especially your eye height in relation to the work.
Neck pain isn’t just a nuisance, it’s an alarm system. If your neck pain is severe or lasts more than a few days, see a doctor. Early intervention is usually effective.
Shoulders
The primary reason for shoulder injury is muscle imbalance. Specifically, the rear deltoid is underdeveloped in relation to the anterior and medial deltoids. This is especially common among “gym rats” who include the bench press in their routine. The bench press specifically works the anterior deltoids. Whether you weight train or not, you need to ensure those rear deltoids are strong. Simple exercises will do the trick, and you can find examples online.
Another reason for shoulder injury is putting too much strain on that joint at an angle it’s not good at handling. When lifting, keep your shoulders in a position of mechanical advantage.
Wrists and Knees
To avoid wrist injury, keep the wrists straight when lifting or pushing. Even a little bend to one side can cause excessive strain on the wrist. If heavy or awkward loads are involved, use mechanical devices to spare not just your wrists but all your other joints too.
One way to avoid knee injury is not to twist when lifting; this also helps spare your back. It’s a common misconception that deep squatting hurts the knees. The key is to ensure your knees do not go past your toes; it’s after that point when knee damage occurs.
Proper Lifting
One improper lift can negate everything we’ve said to this point. So:
• Clear a path. Those two sticks of EMT aren’t very heavy until you need to do a pirouette around some items in your way. Remember what we said about the transversus abdominis?
• Don’t lift or carry more than is comfortable. If, for example, you need to move 10 sticks of 2-in. RMC, consider using a lift truck or making multiple trips.
• Check that it’s ready to be lifted. Remove any burrs; wipe off any cutting oil.
• Watch your posture. Keep your stomach in and shoulders back. Your abdominal muscles should feel a bit tight. Remember your inner drill sergeant.
• Don’t bend over, squat down instead. Bending over can wreck your back, but squatting can wreck your knees. To prevent blowing out your knees when squatting, don’t let them come forward past your toes.
• Start slowly. Test things before pulling hard on that weight. The load might be off balance, or maybe you are.
• Lift close. Drag the load up along a thin, imaginary line that’s as close to your body as practical.
• Check your ego at the door. Nobody who matters cares how much you can lift. You’re a skilled tradesperson, hired more for your brain than your brawn. So, use your brain, and respect your limits.
Don’t Stop There
Don’t forget to protect your eyes (safety glasses), ears (hearing protection), feet (proper work shoes or boots in serviceable condition), and hands (work gloves suitable to the expected hazards or condition).
It’s all about preparation and prevention. Therapy and treatment are almost useless after some kinds of injuries or after chronic insults to the tissues. You can’t fix your back once progressive deterioration sets in. Once a cervical disk is herniated, it can never again fully perform its function. Tendons can be stretched only so far for so long before they are essentially ruined.
Always pay attention to posture, lifting position, joint angles, force, and load even if you must stop to think about each of those factors. It’s best if you stop to think about those factors before lifting anything.
