WCB Launches Soft Tissue Injury Prevention Initiative - March 2003

The Workers Compensation Board (WCB) has launched a soft tissue injury prevention initiative in an effort to increase awareness and reduce the occurrence of soft tissue injuries in Island workplaces. The board is distributing a new poster called Let’s Stretch to workplace safety committees and representatives across Prince Edward Island to help workers and employers reduce soft tissue injuries like sprains and strains.

George Stewart, Director of Occupational Health and Safety with the Workers Compensation Board, commented that “the new poster provides an excellent opportunity for workers and employers to recognize within their workplaces the importance of stretching in preventing soft tissue injuries.”

Douglas MacKenzie of the Dr. John Gillis Memorial Lodge in Belfast explained that “soft tissue injury prevention is an important part of our everyday business practice. Soft tissue injuries like sprains and strains occur frequently in the health care sector as workers are constantly performing physical tasks such as lifting. We are incorporating warm-up exercises found on the Let’s Stretch poster into our mandatory lifting training, which includes a stretching component for all of our staff.”

Jim Lee, Chair of Workers Compensation Board, pointed out that “soft tissue injuries are the most common form of injury occurring in Island workplaces; in 2002, 68% of ‘new loss time claims’ were the result of injuries from sprains and strains. The Let’s Stretch poster will assist in the launch of our soft tissue injury prevention initiative, which, in cooperation with workers and employers, will help reduce workplace injuries on Prince Edward Island.”

For more information contact Mark Barrett:

Tel: (902) 894-0362
Email: mabarrett@wcb.pe.ca