Although it would be nice if sonographers never got injured at work, the reality is that a large percentage of people experience muscle injuries, tendon inflammation and nerve trapping syndrome. Many of the injuries are associated with actions such as completing excessive scanning while maintaining a static workplace, helping patients and keeping sensors in tight grip for a long time.
When an injury occurs and is ignored, damage to the muscles, tendons, or nerves may deteriorate, as the Diagnostic Medical Sonograph continues to perform the same work activities every day and every day. The best approach is to try natural strategies that promote healing and allow the ultrasound technique to continue a successful career.
Soothing aching muscles
There is a good reason why many accredited CAAHEP sonography schools have developed a curriculum that includes one or more classes on occupational safety issues for patients and medical professionals. The numbers are sharp, as numerous studies show that 90 percent of sonographs experience some kind of pain during scanning.
In fact, every job has a risk of physical injury. Even an office worker sitting at a table can get carpal tunnel or back pain, both of which are common sonograph injuries. Sonographers often strain the muscles of the neck and back due to being in uncomfortable positions for long periods of time or developing painful carpal tunnel syndrome from re-scanning with poor wrist positioning.
Natural strategies for soothing wound muscles include:
- Do stretching exercises that loosen tight muscles and help increase blood flow.
- Ice overlay on the inflated area at 20-minute intervals over a 24-hour period.
- Soaking in a warm bath to stimulate blood flow to sore and stiff muscles.
- Dry heat applied with therapeutic heat film
- Alternatively, apply 3 minutes of heat and one minute of cold and repeat several times.
- Massage the area to stimulate blood flow and loosen stiff muscles and tendons
Trap release
There are also ways to reduce the risk of continuing the development of nerve trapping syndrome if the condition is in its early stages. These include:
- Perform conscious positioning efforts during scanning procedures to minimize delayed wrist injuries.
- Stretch regularly to maintain blood circulation.
First of all, the sonograph must be aware of the risk of injury and certain medical conditions. There are some aspects of the sonograph's control, as well as the number of scans performed in one shift. However, a sonograph can regularly minimize stress through the patient and personal positioning.
Listen to the body
It is also important to “listen” to the body. The initial directions that a physical problem develops are often ignored, which is human nature. The pain crawls along the sonograph, which means that the injury is getting worse. Only when the pain becomes noticeable during the scan, or when the pain never subsides, do people decide to take action.
Sonographic interviews conducted by the Society of Radiographs in the United Kingdom showed that the time difference between the first observation of the problem of recognizing injury was from one to three years (Causes of Musculoskeletal Injury Among Sonographs, June 2002) Thus, there is another point to add to the list of natural strategies: do not ignore pain or muscle stress.
