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Keeping knees healthy in restricted work spaces: applications in low-seam mining.

Authors

Moore-SM; Steiner-LJ; Nelson-ME; Mayton-AG; Fitzgerald-GK; Hubert-JP

Source

NIOSH 2008 May; :1-16

Link

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/works/coversheet1555.html 

NIOSHTIC No.

20034189 

Abstract

Many challenges are faced by workers in lower-seam (42 inches or less) mines. The lower-seam heights confine mine workers to their knees as they perform their daily tasks such as installing roof bolts, delivering supplies, repairing belt, or cutting coal. Miners working in these lower seams often consider kneepads to be their only line of defense against knee injuries. However, healthy knees do not start and stop with kneepads. Other interventions such as changing postures, proper hygiene, and work station design may also be used to reduce mine workers’ risks for developing knee injuries. Incorporating these and many other interventions into a mine worker’s "way of life" is an important step to ensuring a long, healthy career and retirement. Keeping knees healthy is also a key aspect to reducing costs in low-seam mines as the industry battles rising health care costs, and training/recruitment of replacement workers is time-consuming and costly. Educating the workforce about the possible interventions to reduce knee injury risk is a primary objective for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (PRL). Therefore, NIOSH researchers, along with industry and academia, developed a training package to educate the mining community about some possible interventions beyond kneepads that may be used to help decrease knee injury rates. Increased awareness and simple changes are the first steps to reducing knee injuries.

Keywords

Mining-industry; Miners; Ergonomics; Musculoskeletal-system-disorders; Knee-disorders; Knee-injuries; Knee-protection; Protective-equipment; Personal-protective-equipment; Underground-mining; Underground-miners; Coal-mining; Coal-miners; Training; Education

Publication Date

20080501

Document Type

Numbered Publication; Information Circular

Fiscal Year

2008

NTIS Accession No.

PB2009-100857

NTIS Price

A03

Identifying No.

(NIOSH) 2008-130; IC-9504

NIOSH Division

PRL

Priority Area

Mining

Source Name

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

State

PA