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Best Practice Tip                                                                                   April 2011 

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Whether or not an ultrasound facility is equipped with the newest, most ergonomic equipment, sonographers must change the behaviors that have led to pain in the past.  They must become aware of the postures and work activities that produce pain and make the necessary changes.  The following best practice tip illustrates how injury risk can be reduced. 

 

 

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Reach for it!

Reach for it!

 

Reaching - extensive reaching beyond 30 cm. for extended periods can also impair blood flow to the shoulder muscles and cause fatigue. This applies to the non-scanning arm as well as the scanning arm.

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BEST PRACTICE:   Move the patient closer to you.  This may require re-positioning the patient in order to bring his or her left side closer to you.  For example, during a lower leg vascular exam, you can have a mobile patient turn around after you have scanned the right leg.  This will bring the patient's left leg close to you.  Another option for this exam is to have the patient seated on the exam table with his or her foot resting on your thigh.  Right-handed cardiac sonographers can sit on the patient's left side with the ultrasound system positioned at the foot of the exam table.  This allows you to reach the cardiac scanning windows without reaching over the patient.  Move closer to the control panel of the ultrasound system.  The design of the workstation chair should allow you to move in close to both the exam table and the ultrasound system.

  


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Don't forget PRISM is coming in May. Your opportunity to put ergonomics and workplace safety front and center and protect your career.

 

Sound Ergonomics is the leader in injury-prevention education and ergonomic products for the medical imaging profession, and we would like to encourage you to think of creative ways that your company or facility can enhance the awareness of workplace safety for sonographers and sonologists.   Join us in reducing the current prevalence of this injury.

Here are some suggestions for ways you might recognize PRISM:

*       "lunch & learn" lectures

*       Customer workshops

*       Ergonomics webinars

*       Providing personal adaptive equipment for the department, such as  a

         cable support armbands or a Shoulder Assist arm support

*       Regular weekly massage in the ultrasound department. - aaaah!

 

Place your orders through our website: www.soundergonomics.com and receive a 10% discount on all our products (excluding exam table and chairs) until May 31, 2011.

See you next time.