Force

Force is the amount of effort exerted by the muscles. All work tasks require workers to use their muscles to exert some level of force. However, when a task requires them to exert a level of force that is too high for any particular muscle, it can damage the muscle or the related tendons, joints and other soft tissue. This damage can occur from a single movement or action that requires the muscles to generate a very high level of force. The greater the force required of a muscle to make a movement, the longer the recovery time required. For instance, if you tap hard on the keys on a keyboard or the buttons on a mouse, the force, combined with the repetitive movement, could be harmful in the long term.

The activities that often involve high force requirements include:

• Lifting, lowering, and carrying
• Pushing or pulling and
• Gripping and manipulating objects

Some job tasks result in high force loads on different parts of the body. Lifting a heavy load that is far from the body increases the load on the lower back and this can potentially damage both the spinal discs and the vertebrae.

The following parameters are important to understand the impact of force:

• Weight of objects
• How long a forceful effort is exerted
• How many times in a given period it is exerted
• The posture the body is in