Sonography and Staying Healthy by Tia

Blog posting By Tia
1^st year DMS student
Montgomery College

Sonography and Staying Healthy

Staying physically and emotionally healthy is vital for the sonographer and their patients when working in ultrasound. It is important to use prophylactic measures to prevent physical and emotional injuries in the workplace. It is also very important to recognize the symptoms of oncoming physical injuries or emotional distress so that we may be proactive in getting the help we need before it’s our work is affected negatively.

There was a study conducted in 2008 to determine the occurrence of physical injury in the field of sonography. It was found that 90% of the study participants were scanning with significant pain. The study also showed that after 2 years of scanning in pain, 14% of these participants had to change their profession due to job related injury (exact number of participants not disclosed). I’m not sure about everyone else, but I do not want to be one of those techs scanning in pain, and I certainly do not want to have to change professions due to injury. It is HARD work to become a sonographer, so we need to start practicing proper ergonomic techniques NOW to prevent work related injuries and job changes.

Musculoskeletal injuries are most often caused by the following motions with scanning: excessive use of the same muscles, frequency of repetitive motions, duration of load on tendons and muscles, level of muscular effort, and insufficient recovery time. When I saw this list of things that cause injury I thought, “Yeah, but these are the motions that are expected of me while scanning. How am I supposed to prevent injury and still do the job that I am hired to do?” There are simple things that we can do to prevent unnecessary strain our muscle and joints. When standing we should maintain a neutral body position. Did you know that standing in neutral body position will apply 112 pounds of compression on your spine, while standing with a 40 degree forward bend will apply 225 lbs of compression on your spine? Just standing correctly will relieve spinal pressure. It is also very important to make sure the bed and your chair at appropriate heights for your scan. If you are feeling tired, take a break or sit down during a scan you may normally stand through. Maintain an appropriate “reach zone” by having the patient move closer to you or have someone help you scan. Your health and, ultimately, your occupation are more important than acting completely self-sufficient and standing too much or reaching too far. Here is a link to a chart of ergonomic exercises that can be helpful in preventing multiple musculoskeletal injuries (http://www.medicalpositioning.com/products/images/articles/pdf/Ergonomic%20Guidelines.pdf ). I recommend we start using them now to stretch and strengthen those muscles we will be using recurrently in sonography

Stress is also a huge health factor that must be addressed in subject of sonography health. There is “eustress” which is positive stress and is what gives us our competitive edge. It is so important to keep our competitive edge and continue to push ourselves to work harder and do better. It is when we become “distressed” that our performance begins to suffer. We may not even notice our work suffering, but it may be noticed by those that are working with us. When we begin slacking in the workplace, as unintentional as it may be, our co-workers have to work harder to make up the slack. This can give rise to resentment in the workplace. To prevent this downhill spiral, here are some warning signs of excessive distress: Changes in mood or personality, changes in sleep patterns, lethargy, low energy levels, antisocial behaviors, and changes in appetite. If you begin to see changes in yourself, such as the ones discussed above, don’t ignore it. It is important for us to assess our lives every once in a while. Are you working too much? Are your hours too long? Is the combination of work and home responsibilities bogging you down? Maybe you just need to take a break, do something different this weekend. If you are feeling distressed and feel like there is no way out, maybe you should consider talking to someone about it. Sometimes just knowing someone understands how you feel lifts the weight a little bit. Do what is best for you!!! No job is worth debilitating physical or mental pain.

Sources:

http://www.medicalpositioning.com/products/images/articles/pdf/Ergonomic%20Guidelines.pdf

http://www.mind.org.uk/help/diagnoses_and_conditions/early_signs_of_mental_distress

“Lecture: Hidden Hazards: Injury Risks in Sonography”, video lecture, www.sonoworld.com, Carolyn Coffin, MPH, RMS, RVT, RDCS.