ERGONOMIC HAZARD

The term of ergonomic hazard has come to be used to refer to physical factor inside the
environment that contribute to injury or harms to the human musculoskeletal system. Basically,
profession that involves in public services is notably having the possibilities to experience
musculoskeletal diseases in their profession. The potential of having musculoskeletal system
diseases can be from various musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) which are exhibit in the
presence of distress, aching and stiffness of the whole body, discomfort or twitching muscles,
fatigue, or disturbances in sleep (Putz-Anderson, Bernard, & Burt, 1997). Employees in the
public health clinic were probably exposed to numerous ergonomic risk factors that will lead
to MSD. There are four main categories of the ergonomic risk factors that were identified which
are repetitive motion, static posture or loading, awkward posture, and extremes temperature.

Repetitive motion can be described as performing the similar motions recurrently which
end up results in stress in muscles, nerves, tendons, strain in joints and surrounding tissues
Moreover, without sufficient time for rest and recovery, these repetition motion can lead to
various type of injuries such carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis (Chiang, B., Ching, C., &
Sheau-yueh, 2001). The repetition motion observed when the employees repetitively perform
various tasks by using their parts of the body such as typing patients detail in the computer,
and checking numbers of patient.

Next, the other factor that leads to ergonomic risk in the public health clinic is static
postures or loading. Static postures or loading is when the muscles hold the body in one position
for a long duration. These actions then reduce body blood circulation and contribute to muscle
tension and directly causes other injuries (Krajewski, Steiner, & Limerick, 2009). Example of
static postures or loading is sitting upright in a chair with improper back support. On the other
hand, awkward postures also ergonomic risk factors that may lead to MSD. Awkward postures
will usually lead to stress on tendons and muscles due to deficient movement or when joints
are bends or significantly deviated from the exact positions. Over-exertion, hyper flexing,
twisting, and overreaching are examples of activity that contributes to this common ergonomic
risk factor. Typically, in employee unconsciously will tend to combine all the unhealthy
postures at the same time in order to complete their work. According to Chengular, et al., in
theyear 2004, these regular practices will then lead to joints damage, lumbar pain, and
tendinitis. The comfortable and relaxed postures are the ones that produce minimum muscle
strain and when it can be maximumly controlled by the body strength during task performing.

Lastly, extreme temperatures exposure might cause issues for employees. Combination
of high temperatures and humidity may cause muscle fatigue and dehydrations. Meanwhile,
cold temperatures will lead to less flexible muscle, muscle sprain and stress. Complications
that might embrace due to this issue are ventilation problems, fatigue, sensory sensitivity,
reduced strength and dexterity and shortness of breath. Besides, extreme temperatures can lead
to health issues such heat exhaustion. Loss of liquid in body through too much sweating is one
of the factor that cause heat exhaustion. If this occur during working hours, it might affect
employees work presentation, health and emotion (Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, 2002). Furthermore, patients and visitors in the clinic also will be affected.
Furthermore, proper ventilation also may affect employee’s productivity and efficiency. It may
also cause discomfort to employees, patients and visitors. At worst case, it can cause occurrence
of human errors. Hence, it is essential to provide good ventilation towards the environment in
the workplace.
REFERENCES
Krajewski, J., Steiner, L., & Limerick, R. (2009). Ergonomic risk factors. Implementation
guide
and tools for the mining industry, 11-19. Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS.

Chiang, B., Ching, C., & Sheau-yueh, J. C. (2001). Planning and implementing a library
ergonomic program: Case study at Queens College Library, the City University of New
York. The Oxford Electronic Library, 19(5), 327.

Putz-Anderson, V. (1988). Cumulative trauma disorders: Manual for musculoskeletal diseases

of the upper limbs. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.