Do you know how continuous working without breaks can affect you? Among other things, it is said to be a cause of overexertion. Health experts say that overexertion remains the leading cause of workplace injuries in all industries. Overexertion occurs when people push themselves beyond their physical limits and often results in pain, inflammation, or other injuries. An overexertion injury can be sustained when a load exceeds the limits of the person doing the work. They may stretch or tear a person’s ligaments, tendons, and muscles, leading to sprains and strains of various body parts, including the neck, shoulders, knees, and wrists. Scientists say that individuals may be at greater risk for overexertion injuries if they are in poor physical condition or overweight. Furthermore, ageing and loss of flexibility may also increase a person’s risk of sustaining an overexertion injury. According to experts, overexertion injuries can be categorised in three main types, for instance, excessive physical effort directed at an outside source, for example, a heavy box, excessive physical effort involving free bodily motion such as bending or kneeling, and repetitive motion, for instance typing or using a computer mouse. When one pushes themselves too hard, it’s known as overexertion. It includes physical or mental effort that’s beyond one’s current abilities. Overexertion depends on many factors, such as one’s age, medical history, environment or workplace, specific activity, or task. Causes Aniket Ukey, a fitness consultant in Kigali, says that overexertion may occur due to poor techniques, for instance, carrying out a task erroneously. This can place strain on the muscles, bones, joints, and conjoining tissues, thus, inciting overexertion damages. He adds that this could be due to lifting items wrongly, standing in awkward positions, sitting with poor posture, using the incorrect form during exercise, not wearing knee pads while kneeling, and using the wrong gear or equipment like chairs without any back support. The fitness consultant adds that abrupt body movements such as swift, vigorous movement can also spur overexertion and is likely to ensue if the technique is improper. He says that hasty movements that can lead to overexertion injuries may include twisting, bending, pushing, pulling, throwing and so forth. Healthline highlights prolonged activity as another cause of overexertion, that is to say, if you continuously do an activity without regular breaks, you will eventually become fatigued as the excess physical effort can be hard on your body. “Prolonged activity might be related to overtraining for a sport or physical fitness, doing an activity or exercise too many days in a row or without sufficient breaks. Also, you can develop mental overexertion after focusing on a cognitive activity for an extended period of time. For instance, you may feel mentally burned out after many hours of studying or working,” Healthline states. Prevention Ukey says that working in an awkward posture can place too much stress on the wrong part of your body. It is advisable to place objects closer to you. He urges keeping your body located in square to your work, but toes should always point in the same direction as your nose. Ukey also points out that tiresome or repetitive work generates muscle tension as it doesn’t allow the muscles enough time to recover. Repeating certain movements for long periods of time can also increase one’s stress level, causing them to become tense. Frequent, short breaks should be done. “Routine exercise and stretching can help prevent overexertion. Some of the safe lifting techniques you can use are stretch and warm-up before lifting, bend your knees, keep your back straight, don’t bend or twist your back when lifting, never lift with arms extended. “You can also have the load being lifted close to your body, your footing should be solid with your feet shoulder-width apart, lift with your legs, not your back, limit the quantity of weight you carry, ask for help to carry bulky or large loads,” he says.
