Workers Risk Damage from Repetitive Motion
By Jay Sternickle
Article originally appeared in the Life & Times Magazine
Patriot Newspaper, Hinesville, Georgia
By Jay Sternickle
Article originally appeared in the Life & Times Magazine
Patriot Newspaper, Hinesville, Georgia
When Debra Naill first experienced pain in her hands, while working as a sewing machine operator, she did not think it was unusual. She thought the pain would go away; like the deep aches you get after a hard workout at the gym.
She was new at her job and thought her hands would get stronger as she learned to sew better; repeating the same motions day after day.
But the pain did not go away; it got worse, and Naill's hands got weaker and weaker. After nine months on the job, she was forced to quit—she no longer had the strength in her hands to grip objects. Naill was the victim of a repetitive stress injury.
She was new at her job and thought her hands would get stronger as she learned to sew better; repeating the same motions day after day.
But the pain did not go away; it got worse, and Naill's hands got weaker and weaker. After nine months on the job, she was forced to quit—she no longer had the strength in her hands to grip objects. Naill was the victim of a repetitive stress injury.