What do the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, and New England Patriots star tight end, Rob Gronkowski, have in common?  They both suffered a hamstring strain injury this year which caused a temporary setback from competing in their respective sport.  

While strain and sprain injuries are fairly common among athletes in any sport, overexertion injuries rank first as the leading cause of disabling injury in the workplace.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, sprains, strains, or tears were the leading injury or illness in private industry and state and local government in 2014.  There were 420,870 of these cases requiring days away from work to recuperate and workers who suffered sprains, strains, or tears needed a median of 10 days away from work.

MEMIC is offering a free webinar on the topic of avoiding sprains and strains to policyholders on October 13^th from 10:00 to 10:30am.  This half-hour webinar will describe the anatomical difference between a sprain and a strain, review the contributing factors leading to sprains and strains, discuss the general principles of safe lifting, and provide an overview of control measures for slip, trip, and fall prevention.  To register for this webinar or to request a schedule when new workshops and webinars are announced, click on this Workshops & Webinars link.

Check out some of our previous posts for tips on safe lifting, pushing vs. pulling, back pain and stretching.

Posted ByGreg LaRochelle (Retired 2023)