Jewelry artist's occupational safety and healthWhy is occupational safety such an important thing for the jewelry artist? Health is our most valuable asset. Yet, unknowingly, or sometimes even knowingly,we do put this issue in the back burner. As I think of the occupational safety of our profession,there are several health problems that are closely linked. Both jewelry making,selling and marketing require chunks of time while we have to sit down and do our work. These sedentary blocks can bring weight gain, joint pains, arthritis and other diseases. Back pain and Sciatica are quite common sympotoms among 75%- 85% beaders. I have really seen these things happening in my body. I decided to use a simple kitchen timer that will remind me to get up every half hour and do some other chores that involve working with all the other parts of my body. It does slow me down in my jewelry related activities, but I know it is better for me in the long run. A big occupational safety and health hazard associated with the jewelry making business is the carpal tunnel syndrome. This happens because we use our wrists and fingers constantly for prolong period of time. 
What Is It?It is a common stress injury that happens when we do repetitive actions for a long period of time. Carpal syndrome tunnel syndrome occurs when the median nerve becomes pinched due to swelling of the nerve or tendon or both. The median nerve provides sensation to the palm side of the thumb, index finger, as well as the inside half of the ring finger and muscle power to the thumb. When the nerve is pinched, numbness, tingling and sometimes pain of the affected fingers and hand may happen radiating into the forearm area. Now you can see why it is an occupational safety and health hazard for jewelry artists, and wire twisters! What are the symptoms? *Numbness or pain in one or both hands, forearm, or wrist. *Occasional tingling, numbness, “pin-in-the –needle” sensation and again “falling asleep” feeling. *Pain in your forearm between your elbow and wrist. *Stiffness of fingers especially in the morning *Reduced strength and grip in fingers What can you do? Mild symptoms can be treated with home remedies: *Stop activity that causes pain and discomfort to start with. Rest your wrist between activities and do some exercises that are included later in this article. *Ice your wrist for 10 to 15 minutes one or two times a day. Take some anti inflammatory medicine to reduce swelling. Also talk to your doctor if possible *Wear a wrist splint at night to keep your wrist in a neutral position at night. This will take pressure off your median nerve. Holding a glass of water is an example when your wrist is in a neutral position. Exercises for flexibility and strength in your arm, hand and wrist. *Rotate your wrist up and down and side to side *Stretch your fingers far apart, relax, repeat several times *Stretch your thumb by pulling it back , gently, hold, release. Repeat several times. *Squeeze a rubber ball *Do wrist curls and extensions with light weight. How can you prevent it? *Use tools that can eliminate your repetitive actions like rotary tool for twisting wire, use small bench vises etc. Ad Wire jewelry* Use ergonomic tools. They may seem expensive in the beginning but if you think of the occupational safety aspect and how many times you'll be using them, it surely pays off in the end. *Try to avoid repetitive actions at uncomfortable angles. Change the height of your table, chair, sitting positions and see if that make a difference. *Exercise. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends taking several breaks between such repetitive activities and try the exercises mentioned above religiously, before your work session and in between, several times to prevent injury. Stay well. After
Jewelry artist's occupational safety
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