Power zone ends & end range motion begins.

bumped

Well-Known Member
I wish my LM rep would come out on the road for 1 day. I'm positive he couldn't even get in and out of the car 10 times.
 

brownedout

Well-Known Member
I reported my injury as a sharp pain the the end of my shoulder while pulling down the rear overhead door in a pkg car. During the "interrogation" process with my mngr his perception which I never indicated was that I twisted or stepped away from the strap before letting go therefore putting myself in an end range motion & not following the proper methods. The shoulder was already sore in previous wks as I noticed slight pain grabbing back for the seat belt, holding the handrail existing the vehicle, & pulling rear door shut. You shouldn't have to be intimidated or manipulated to report any pain as there are obvious procedures that put you in end range motion positions. BTW this is how my mngr reported to insurance & I was denied lost wages. Hmmmmm.. yeah just follow the methods & be honest & you'll be fine! Suuuurrrreeee
I responded to your power zone question to LM rep earlier, and hoped to get into end range motion area also, and didn't have time, I needed to leave for rest of day. I hadn't even known about this guestion yet, it is best to address your area(s) of concern working through this example. End range motion is a term in it's simplicity is just what it suggests, the end range at which a muscle can contract and perform its task. The best easiest example would be to use the biceps and triceps and their involvement in moving the forearm (radial and ulna), as simple as this would be it doesn't help the op any or answer any of his valid concerns. Hopefully without getting too technical I can give a quick rundown of the major muscles of the shoulder girdle. Now most of these muscles actually are involved with the scapula (most often referred to as the wingbone). Now without getting crazy technical with muscle names, origins, and insertions, the simplest thing to do would be to list the movements of the upper arm as perfomed by the muscles of the shoulder girdle. Flexion, or decresing the angle of the joint is primarily performed by the deltoids and actually the pectoralsis major (pecs,chest). Extension, or increasing the angle of the joint, is primarily accomplished by also the deltoids, and the latissimus dorsi (lats). Adduction, movement of the girdle toward the midline of the body employs the pecs, and lats again, as well as the teres major and others. Abduction, conversely movement of the girdle laterally, away fro the body uses the deltoids and supraspinatus. Finally there is medial and lateral rotation of the humerous, medial is twisting (rotation) toward the body, lateral is just reverse. Now every muscle has a movement range measured in degrees that is the norm. Obviously world-class athletes tend to be on the higher range of movement possibilities. But even there, there are many factors which further increase movement or level the playing field. Fast twitch, slow twitch fibers, fatigueable non-fatigueable muscle. Increased musculature usually results in a decreased movement, that lots of uninformed people actually think is less flexibility, quite the opposite their muscles are just as, if not more pliable (flexible), it's just the size of the muscle(s) that restricts how far flexion and extension for example go before the movement comfortably ends. The unfortunate thing about our company. We have often been referred to as industrial athletes. When a world class athlete has movement breakdowns either throught lapse in judgement, fatgue the result is a loss, or decreased performance. When a ups employee has the same breakdown for the same reason the result will generally be an injury. We are unfortunately and unfairly held to a very high standard by people who won't even take the time to properly train it's employees except for the taking of assessments where the answers are left in full view for us so the 100% result they require will be quickly achieved. To the op you should have reported the "wear and tear pain" you spoke of immediately. Your management team needed to be aware of your injury and then take the neccessary steps to rest you or to keep you working in which case it is now their problem when you cause further damage. Once you admit to previous pain it is now easy for them to surmise you were not performing proper motions, thus leading to further damage. Hope it all works out for you and you heal well.
 

Benben

Working on a new degree, Masters in BS Detecting!
Nice post Brown, you made me stop and think for a bit. Lets add some ergonomics just for Upsate.

The OP states pain at "sharp pain the the end of my shoulder while pulling down" with no other symptoms described. The first assumption would be TOS (a reach without mentioning radicular symptoms) or a Bursitis/Impingement Syndrome. Without a better description of the pain or its exact location we are left with our own experience with what we do every day.

All truck rear doors are NOT the same. Lifting and lowering the rear doors is assisted by a large spring above them that acts EXACTLY like a garage door spring. This spring can be tightened by automotive to decrease the "weight" of the door. A driver should not have to be lifting the full weight of the door or worse, having to pull down with his/her entire body weight just to get it closed when the spring is there to assist. Write it up and have it adjusted, thats what a DVIR is for!

The strap on the rear door should be long! Long enough so that a driver is not forced to reach above their head to grab it. Standing on tip toes just to reach the strap to pull down the door is about the very definition of end range of motion. Write it up!

Close the door while facing the door (face your work.) I am as guilty as anyone of this. Trying to hurry I sometimes catch myself closing the rear door as I am turning to walk away. Facing the door while pulling down has you using the just about every upper extremity muscle. Turn 90* and you have removed your Pecs (for the most part) from the equation. Thats the loss of a HUGE amount of cross sectional muscle. More importantly you put a monstrous amount of stretch on the anterior deltoid and pec tendons (do any of us truely stretch as much as we should?) with an egreious amount of stress on the Labrum as the humeral head is forced anteriorly while being externaly rotated, the amount is scary! Now factor in the depresion of the clavicle and acromion onto the humeral head just as the humerious is grossly rotated (WITH A LOAD) in the glenoid cavity. You are asking WAY TO MUCH of labrum and the SITS muscles to protect your shoulder.



So the Perfect Trinity of the shoulder injury. Pulling down from above your head on a heavy door while turning away. Bursitis or Grade 2 Strain if you are lucky, SLAP tear if you roll the bones and come up craps. All of this could possibly be avoided by doing 2 things. Use of the DVIR and compleating 1 task before turning to begin another. Ergonomics Upstate :itwashim3:
 

ajblakejr

Age quod agis
Nice post Brown, you made me stop and think for a bit. Lets add some ergonomics just for Upsate.

The OP states pain at "sharp pain the the end of my shoulder while pulling down" with no other symptoms described. The first assumption would be TOS (a reach without mentioning radicular symptoms) or a Bursitis/Impingement Syndrome. Without a better description of the pain or its exact location we are left with our own experience with what we do every day.

All truck rear doors are NOT the same. Lifting and lowering the rear doors is assisted by a large spring above them that acts EXACTLY like a garage door spring. This spring can be tightened by automotive to decrease the "weight" of the door. A driver should not have to be lifting the full weight of the door or worse, having to pull down with his/her entire body weight just to get it closed when the spring is there to assist. Write it up and have it adjusted, thats what a DVIR is for!

The strap on the rear door should be long! Long enough so that a driver is not forced to reach above their head to grab it. Standing on tip toes just to reach the strap to pull down the door is about the very definition of end range of motion. Write it up!

Close the door while facing the door (face your work.) I am as guilty as anyone of this. Trying to hurry I sometimes catch myself closing the rear door as I am turning to walk away. Facing the door while pulling down has you using the just about every upper extremity muscle. Turn 90* and you have removed your Pecs (for the most part) from the equation. Thats the loss of a HUGE amount of cross sectional muscle. More importantly you put a monstrous amount of stretch on the anterior deltoid and pec tendons (do any of us truely stretch as much as we should?) with an egreious amount of stress on the Labrum as the humeral head is forced anteriorly while being externaly rotated is scary! Now factor in the depresion of the clavicle onto the humeral head just as the humerious is grossly rotated (WITH A LOAD) in the glenoid cavity. You are asking WAY TO MUCH of labrum and the SITS muscles to protect your shoulder.



So the Perfect Trinity of the shoulder injury. Pulling down from above your head on a heavy door while turning away. Bursitis if you are lucky, SLAP tear if you roll the bones and come up craps. All of this could possibly be avoided by doing 2 things. Use of the DVIR and compleating 1 task before turning to begin another. Ergonomics Upstate :itwashim3:

Adding...use both hands to pull which forces you to face your work and places equal stress (balanced) on your body.

And as far as end range motions - think
How many times at home - do you find yourself using end range motions?
Stop and think about making IT simpler.

Reaching for something on a top shelf with one hand and pulling to only have the entire shelf dump out on the floor...
Get a stool and look before pulling...it would have saved time.

My husband reached to grab the laundry soap from the shelf, he reached over the laundry basket which was on the floor in front of the cabinet with the soap.
He hid the fact he pulled his back because he knew that I would have told hm to move the basket so he could square his body with the reach and avoid end-range motion.
 

UnconTROLLed

perfection
OT from the powerzone/end range motion debates, all of this seems to be stemming from extra pressure "at the top" to intimidate employees from reporting injuries.

When, during a meeting between employee and several management personnel, a center manager tells you that by reporting an injury, you have adversely affected their families because their bonuses are smaller and have not received raises for years, and "how would that make you feel", you know that there is a serious integrity problem somewhere.
 

barnyard

KTM rider
2 end range motions that we are told to do constantly are keeping hands at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel and pulling in the mirror when parked. Pulling in the mirror is absolutely horrible for our shoulders, but mentioning it seems to fall on deaf ears.
 

bottomups

Bad Moon Risen'
OT from the powerzone/end range motion debates, all of this seems to be stemming from extra pressure "at the top" to intimidate employees from reporting injuries.

When, during a meeting between employee and several management personnel, a center manager tells you that by reporting an injury, you have adversely affected their families because their bonuses are smaller and have not received raises for years, and "how would that make you feel", you know that there is a serious integrity problem somewhere.
In that same meeting with management personnel be sure to bring up how you report the injury will affect your own family as well. In WI, being out on disability would bring you $350 a week before taxes, 12 weeks of Health & Welfare contributions and increased medical bills. Under workers compensation you would net $1000 a week and be covered for Health & welfare contributions for a year as well as being paid for all holidays.
Then let them know that your family is more important to you than theirs and they can take their threats and stick them where the sun don't shine!
 

ajblakejr

Age quod agis
In that same meeting with management personnel be sure to bring up how you report the injury will affect your own family as well. In WI, being out on disability would bring you $350 a week before taxes, 12 weeks of Health & Welfare contributions and increased medical bills. Under workers compensation you would net $1000 a week and be covered for Health & welfare contributions for a year as well as being paid for all holidays.
Then let them know that your family is more important to you than theirs and they can take their threats and stick them where the sun don't shine!

Time out.

Let them know family is important.
Do not disrespect any family.

Do not lower yourself to play the lack of integrity game.

Do what is right.

An injury is an injury.
Follow methods.
Think before you move and make moving correctly the rule not the exception.
 

soberups

Pees in the brown Koolaid
That's pretty much the point I'm tryin to make here. I asked the professional blantenly where the power zone ends & the end range motion begins & I'm responded with frustration & asked why we get so technical. None of my mngmnt can even give me an exact description to my question.

Thats because you werent following The Script.

According to The Script, you are supposed to mindlessly recite the Ten Point Commentary and the Eight Keys to Lifting and Lowering on cue like a trained parakeet for the LM guy and your sup when they come out on area to observe you.

According to The Script, you are supposed to give a flawless, textbook performance of The Methods like a robot for the LM guy and your sup when they come out on area to observe you. Since the weather is always perfect and the load is always perfect and the dispatch is always perfect and the time allowance is always perfect, then you also need to be always perfect. That is how The Script is supposed to read.

You arent supposed to be asking any questions. You arent supposed to be bringing up any pesky, annoying, uncomfortable "real world" safety concerns about ergonomically deficient equipment, unfair time allowances, production harassment or excessive dispatches. You arent supposed to be disputing anything they say. None of that is part of The Script. They cant handle it when you dont follow The Script. It makes them uncomfortable, because when you dont follow The Script then they can't follow The Script either, and by Golly we cant have any of that!
 

Benben

Working on a new degree, Masters in BS Detecting!
Adding...use both hands to pull which forces you to face your work and places equal stress (balanced) on your body.

My husband reached to grab the laundry soap from the shelf, he reached over the laundry basket which was on the floor in front of the cabinet with the soap.
He hid the fact he pulled his back because he knew that I would have told hm to move the basket so he could square his body with the reach and avoid end-range motion.

I'll never understand why women insist on always leaving the laundry baskets on the floor and in the way. It has to be a genetics thing.
 

OVERBOARD

Don't believe everything you think
I always find it funny how where told how to do everything but I found one thing that there is no method for and it’s the closing of the drivers door and the passenger door. Where told how to close the bulkhead door and the back door but not the two side doors so don’t worry about end range motion just reach back with your back to the door and close it and nothing will be said because a Sup doesn’t think for himself and doesn’t know what to do if its not on his check list. I've said something to my sup on my last safety ride and he said that the passenger door should always be open, I said not in my case if its cold out that door stays shut and I do open and shut that door all day long when its cold out.
 

brownmonster

Man of Great Wisdom
In that same meeting with management personnel be sure to bring up how you report the injury will affect your own family as well. In WI, being out on disability would bring you $350 a week before taxes, 12 weeks of Health & Welfare contributions and increased medical bills. Under workers compensation you would net $1000 a week and be covered for Health & welfare contributions for a year as well as being paid for all holidays.
Then let them know that your family is more important to you than theirs and they can take their threats and stick them where the sun don't shine!

Max in WI is roughly 860.
 

bottomups

Bad Moon Risen'
854 is only TTD (temporary total disability) benefits paid on a weekly basis. Once PPD (permanent partial disability) is factored in at the end of healing plateau and back dated to the day of injury, the maximum weekly benefit in WI averaged $1026 a week in 2011.
 

Integrity

Binge Poster
Its early Saturday morning following 3 consecutive 11.5 hour work days so bear with me if I ramble. In my building we have been short on drivers for the better part of a year. EVERYONE is tired and the entire driver core is fatigued more then at any other time in my 6 years driving. The last 3 peak seasons are fond memories for 1/2 of us drivers as we didn't work as hard then as we are working now. Hell, at least we had helpers during peak.

With that being said here is my take. I am on the safety team in my building due to my background. Yesterday I did 158 deliveries(320+), 29 pickups(150+), and 113 miles. I think I had right at 13 over 70's. This was an 11.98 planned dispatch. 12 hours a day and this has become the norm for my building. I hope and pray that I will make it to retirement so that I then finally get to spend some time with my wife. The only way to get there and not be confined to a wheelchair because I have just destroyed my body is to work safely. THIS IS WHY THE METHODS ARE SO IMPORTANT TO ME.

The company doesn't want drivers hurt because that costs dollars. Drivers don't want to get hurt because of the above and quite frankly Workers Comp pays about 60% of what we make now. Besides, injuries now means pain later on in life. Its a lose/lose situation for everyone involved.

Now a question I have for the OP! Who do you prefer observing you and giving feedback trying to get you to retirement without a broken body? Your On-Car who has what....a grand total of 3 days biomechanics safety training or someone that deals with it every day? Someone who has had extensive education in biomechanics and risk assessment. Someone who has access to the trends and the statistics for the entire company not just your district or buildng or "driver group?" Someone who does observations every day. Someone who's ONLY job is safety!

You can look at it negitively and not take a thing from it or you can man-up and learn from the observation. Take something possitive from the experience and try to make it to retirement with your body intact. Arguing just for the sake of arguing is not a show of mental prowess. Are you more at risk for injury of a body part at its end-range of motion, when its not in its closed compact position? YES. Is the power zone where you are least likely to hurt your self? YES.

PS. "That's because body mechanics/ergonomics is an inexact science."--qoute Upsate. Biomechanics is an exact science. It can be studied, measured and quantified. Ergonomics is just the application of that knowledge.
Benben,

Do you mean you are a member of the Employee Health and Safety Committee?

Are you a teamster?

Sincerely,
I
 
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