Shoulder injuries and the aging workforce

By Brian Sornson, State Agency Team Operations Supervisor

Periodically, I review how state agency claims have evolved over time to see if there are areas where we should apply greater attention from a safety standpoint.

In a recent review in particular, I was interested to see if there was any potential correlation between the "aging workforce," defined as those who are 40 years of age or older, and shoulder injuries, since they are the single highest contributor to lost time from work and paid costs for state agencies and public universities.

The table below provides a good illustration of how the relative age of injured workers at state agencies and universities has shifted over the last 35 years. It's gone from being predominately in the 20-29 and 30-39 age brackets in the early 1980s to the 40-49 and 50-59 brackets today.

With the trending of injured workers into the higher age brackets, has there been any associated increase in the frequency or severity of shoulder injuries during the same time period? The table below shows the frequency of shoulder injuries has not only increased since 1980, but the length of disability and cost have dramatically increased, as well. In fact, shoulder claims were responsible for less than 5 percent of time-loss days and paid costs some 30 years ago, but accounted for more than 20 percent during the period 2010 to 2015.

"Although the shoulder is easily injured during sporting activities and manual labor, the primary source of shoulder problems appears to be the natural age-related degeneration of the surrounding soft tissues such as those found in the rotator cuff," according to an article by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

The most commonly attributed causes of shoulder injuries for state agency and university workers are strains and sprains or slips, trips, and falls. With that in mind, consider the following:

• Enhance your ergonomic programs by having a complete team of ergonomic assessors, and actively embrace Safety-In-Motion® training.
• Evaluate tasks that may lead to overusing the arm or shoulder to determine if reductions in their frequency or intensity can be made.
• Look for opportunities to prevent slip-trip-fall hazards where a worker could easily injure her shoulder trying to brace for the impact of a fall with an outstretched arm.
• Share resources such as SAIF's "Strengthen and Lengthen" posters to help teach workers ways to improve core strength and muscle tone.
• Support your organization's wellness and health promotion efforts; a healthier workforce is more resilient to injury and will typically recover more quickly if injured.

Consider having your organization develop a formal action plan that includes some specific analysis and focus on preventing injuries to shoulders, and to the knees and lower back, which are also prone to injury and degeneration with aging. If you're unsure how, your assigned SAIF senior safety management consultant is a great resource to get you started and collaborate with you all along the way.

More resources

Live long and prosper: the new case for productive aging (Oregon OSHA)

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Skin Diseases

A biomechanical study of work-related shoulder disorder

Strengthen and Lengthen (PDF)

Wellness and health promotion