Lumbar belts. Sort of tape or band made of cloth , leather, or other material used to adjust and protect the bones around the lower back from overweight injury.
Summary
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- 1 Importance as a personal protector
- 1 Objective
- 1.1 Direct Effects
- 1.2 Indirect effects
- 2 Protection for the worker
- 3 Disuse incident
- 1 Acute low back pain
- 2 Aftermath
- 4 See also
- 5 External link
- 6 Source
- 1 Objective
Importance as a personal protector
In every workplace where hand tools are used, there is a risk of accidents. Many of these generate disability injuries that prevent the worker from continuing with his normal work. In order to avoid the presence of accidents, when using hand tools, there must be preventive measures aimed at the correct use of these, personnel training, proper storage and maintenance that must be carried out frequently.
It should be considered that the various jobs carried out in the company or industry require the specific use of some tool, that is, the tool appropriate to the type of job must be used. Also important is the supervision that is carried out on workers in the performance of their tasks and the safe work procedures.
Depending on the type of work or activity that is carried out, in some cases the use of specific personal protection elements is essential (lumbar belt, leaded elements, harness); in other cases only the basic ones will be used (gloves, glasses, helmet, footwear).
objective
The primary objective of using the lumbar protection belt is to reduce and / or eliminate injuries to the lower back, and increase worker productivity. In highly developed countries, studies and research on ergonomics have been devoted to determining the efficacy or ineffectiveness of the lumbar belts through the biomechanical study of postural effects, movements (lifting, holding and moving) and rotations. with or without load (lateral turns in the correct standing or bent position). The effectiveness is to find out in which extreme cases you can avoid injuries to the lower back.
The lumbar belt acts on man causing various effects, some direct and desirable (for which the belt was designed) and other secondary ones that appear as a consequence of the tasks carried out when the belt is used, which are described in continuation:
Direct Effects
* Push the diaphragm upward, which decreases the contraction of the back muscles. * Increases the stiffness of the segments of the spine in the lower back.
Indirect effects
* As a result of the heat and humidity, the personnel using the lumbar belt presented an accumulation of perspiration in the contact area. * Due to perspiration, it causes itching, swelling and discomfort (pain) due to a relative increase in tightening.
Worker protection
In Cuba, the highest frequency of consultations with the orthopedic specialist is carried out by workers. Most of his acute and chronic low back pain is caused by alterations in the biomechanics of the spine – caused by poor posture on and off the job – muscle weakness, especially of the abdominals, ligaments and tendons shortened by Chronic retractions, mechanical overload and inflammation of the posterior intervertebral joints aggravated by inadequate and unusual efforts, work carried out in the same posture, usually sitting, the improper use of chairs and a high degree of stress. This condition can appear when the spine is in resting or moving.
In the first case, it is probably due to modifications of the normal column curves. The lordosis exaggerated (increased lumbar curve) produces pain traction posterior ligaments and extensor muscles of the spine is held in a permanent contraction. Also obesity, especially when it causes abdominal prominence, causes an increase in lumbar lordosis and the lumbosacral angle.
In these aggressive conditions, the weight of the trunk is unloaded on the posterior joints of the lumbar vertebrae (which are five), on the other hand the conjugation holes through which nerves pass are narrowed and the posterior part of the disc bulges back causing the known herniated disc, which compresses the roots and sometimes causes painful sensations in the path of the [[Sciatic nerve | sciatic nerve].
The exaggerated lordosis can produce contact of the spinous processes – bony eminences that we can touch with our fingers along the spine – and therefore cause painful friction, as a secondary problem to the degeneration of the disc that loses its thickness and allows the approximation of the vertebrae with increased lordosis.
Alterations in posture due to problems in the feet, knees and hips can also cause low back pain. When it appears in situations of movement, it is probably due to the action on the already sensitized joint, ligament, tendon and muscle structures, whether it is a normal column that works improperly or an abnormal one subjected to excessive work, which causes stresses muscle that cause pain.
Disuse incident
Acute low back pain
It usually appears after light or moderate exertion, a sudden movement in the wrong position, cough or sneezing. Sometimes, when it joins the muscle spasm, it is so intense that the patient is left “hooked” in a semi-flex position.
Very often the acute crisis is preceded by diffuse chronic pain, of very low intensity, and the worker devalues it until it is increased by the repetition of physical effort. They are also produced by sudden movements such as torsion, hyperextension, or flexion. For example lifting a heavy object while simultaneously rotating.
Aftermath
Low back pain cannot be said to be a disease, but rather it is a symptom, since it means low back pain (in the lower spine) and can be due to multiple factors, such as excessive effort or poor posture.
To reach a correct diagnosis, it is essential to carry out a thorough interrogation and a thorough physical examination. Before starting the latter, while interviewing the patient, it will be observed how he sits, what positions he adopts and how he gets up from the chair.
The examination begins in a standing position to look at the appearance of the spine, its accentuation or disappearance from normal curves, lateral deviations, the prominence of the abdomen and the inclination of the pelvis in any direction, as well as the changes caused by some recent trauma.
