Use caution when using snow blowers

Updated: Wednesday, 09 Dec 2009, 9:39 PM EST
Published : Wednesday, 09 Dec 2009, 7:43 PM EST

• Lynn Barry

With the first significant snowfall here, people should use extreme caution when using snow blowers.

Each year, 5,000 people in this country suffer a hand injury from using a snow blower. Some of those injuries can be severe like losing a finger.

Hand surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Wint of the Hand Center of western Massachusetts says if you're snow blower jams, turn it off and never put your hands or feet in the intake or outtake.

If you have a snow blower that has a clutch, disengage the clutch. Then wait or delay about 10-15 seconds because it takes time for the machine to calm down and then use a stick.

Dr. Wint also said that 500 people each year lose a finger as a result of a snow blower injury.

Recommendations for safe use of a jammed snow blower snow blowers include : (OCD STICK)

1. If the snow blower jams, immediately turn it OFF

2. Disengage the CLUTCH

3.DELAY.. Wait 10 seconds after shutting of to allow Impeller Blades to stop rotating

4. Always use a STICK or broom handle to clear impacted snow. The stick most be strong enough to avoid breakage or eye injures can result from flying fragments

5. Never put your hand near chute or around blades

6. Keep all shields in place. Do not remove safety devices on machine

7. Keep hands and feet away from moving parts

8. Keep a clear head, concentrate and ...

Do not drink alcoholic beverages before using a snow blower

As physicians dedicated to the care of the Hand and Upper extremity we want to inform the public concerning the perils and pitfalls of improper snow blower use. Physicians, nurses, allied health professionals and therapists who deal with these injuries live in fear of the first heavy wet snow of the season. Invariably injuries are seen despite general knowledge that these injuries occur. These safety tips cannot guarantee against injury but hopefully if you are reading these or even better spreading these... it is one more step towards preventing these types of injuries.

News organizations and weather services can help.

Conditions that are associated with a higher incidence of injuries, hay wet snow exceeding 6 inches of accumulation and temperatures above 28 degrees Fahrenheit offer good opportunities to provide warning for the public. We need your help to reduce the incidence of these preventable injuries.

Patient's Choice Award 2009

Dr. Jeffrey Wint has been honored by his patients with a Patients' Choice Award for 2009. Every month, over 40,000 patients rate the effectiveness of their physicians online at www.vitals.com. Of the nations 720,000 active physicians, less then 5 % were accorded this honor by their patients in 2009.

www.handctr.com

Endoscopic Surgery Speeds Recovery for Patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome print this page email to a friend The bane of data processors, carpenters, musicians, lumberjacks -- anyone whose job requires frequent, repetitive bending of the wrist -- carpal tunnel syndrome has been called the "new industrial epidemic." Although the prevalence of the condition is not known, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health reports that 15 to 25 percent of workers employed in construction, food preparation, clerical work, production, fabrication and mining are at risk for cumulative trauma disorders like carpal tunnel syndrome. The traditional surgical treatment for the condition required an incision in the palm. While this procedure successfully relieved the wrist pain, tingling and numbness that characterize carpal tunnel syndrome, it often created incisional problems. The location of the incision increased the chances that small nerve branches in the hand might be cut, producing discomfort in the scar. Thanks to a new surgical procedure used at Baystate Medical Center, many of these problems are being eliminated. Baystate hand surgeons are the first in the area to utilize endoscopic surgery to treat carpal tunnel syndrome -- a technique that markedly reduces the size of the necessary incision, resulting in a faster recovery and, for many patients, a more rapid return to work. "Although carpal tunnel surgery has been performed successfully for years, some of the minor problems associated with the open-palm method have prevented patients from receiving the full benefit of the procedure," says Jeffrey C. Wint, M.D., an orthopedic hand surgeon at Baystate who uses the endoscopic technique. "For people who work with their hands, the time spent recovering from a major incision in their palm can be a significant setback." Causes and Cures Carpal tunnel syndrome arises when repetitive wrist motion causes swelling of the tissues within the carpal tunnel. The transverse carpal ligament is unyielding and the median nerve is compressed. The initial symptoms are wrist pain and a tingling sensation in the fingers, usually felt when the hand is at rest. If not corrected, the condition can produce numbness and weakness throughout the hand, making simple tasks such as holding a newspaper or turning on a faucet painful or impossible. Surgery has been able to alleviate these symptoms by cutting the ligament that overlies the median nerve at the juncture of the wrist and hand. Until recently, however, the only means of access to the ligament has been through an incision in the palm.