Hand Injury Prevention: How To Protect Your Hands at Work

If your job involves manual labor, it may be difficult to escape the risk of hurting your hands, which are often put in harm’s way when handling machinery, tools and raw materials.

Every job comes with its own risks, creating almost unlimited ways hands can be hurt. The potential injuries vary widely, ranging from sudden traumatic events to chronic conditions that develop over time. Among the potential problems:

• Lacerations: While minor cuts are often no cause for concern, deep cuts can damage tendons and nerves and lead to infections.
• Broken bones: There are more than two dozen bones in the hand, creating significant vulnerability to excessive force.
• Repetitive stress injuries: Repeating the same motion over and over can slowly cause damage to the muscles, tendons or nerves in your hand. Among the best known conditions is carpal tunnel syndrome.

6 Strategies To Prevent Workplace Hand Injuries

If you use your hands for manual labor, there will always be some risk. But that doesn’t mean you can’t improve your odds of avoiding injury. Consider these strategies:

Use your machine’s safety mechanisms. Blade guards, shields and other safety features are there for a reason. Using these safeguards may feel cumbersome and you may be quite comfortable with your tools. But that comfort can create a false sense of security that leads to severe injury.

Wear proper safety gear. When wielding tools or moving heavy objects, gloves and other protective devices can mean the difference between a minor or severe injury.

Watch your sleeves and jewelry. When working with any type of machinery that spins quickly, you should avoid wearing anything below your elbows. That includes watches, rings and long-sleeves – which could be caught in the machinery.

Use tools instead of your hands. Often there are opportunities – push sticks for table saws, for example – that put more distance between your hands and spinning machinery.

Don’t work while fatigued. Being tired or mentally foggy while working with tools can be dangerous. Be sure to take breaks or step away if you are losing focus.

Cross-training at work. Athletes protect their bodies from injury through cross-training – a fitness routine that uses multiple exercises to build overall strength. You can use a similar strategy at work to avoid chronic injuries. If you have a repetitive task, look for ways to change it up (stand in different positions or use your other hand, for example).

When To See a Doctor for a Work-Related Hand Injury

If you have been injured while working, it is important that you seek help sooner rather than later. With many injuries, quick treatment can improve your outcome.

With an acute injury, you may be tempted to wait it out and see how you feel after a few days. But if you have been cut or stabbed or think you may have broken a bone, there’s no reason to delay. Get into an emergency room or urgent care clinic and let a medical professional evaluate the injury to determine what should happen next.

Chronic injuries can be more complicated. Since these injuries develop slowly over time, it may take you a while to realize that something is wrong – and that you aren’t just feeling tired or sore from a hard day’s work.

If you notice a nagging pain, numbness or tingling in your hand, pay attention. Is it getting worse over time? Is it interfering with your ability to work or take part in leisure activities? Does it wake you up at night? These are all red flags suggesting you need to see a doctor for evaluation.

There’s never any real harm in getting seen too early. If your doctor says there’s nothing to worry about, you can go back to work with a sense of relief. And if there is something to be concerned about, your doctor can get you started quickly on a plan (including work modifications or safety braces) to keep it from getting worse.

This content is not AI generated.