Working as a painter might appear to be pretty light when you compare it to other jobs. However, there’s actually a pretty high number of painting injuries each year. In fact, there’s a few different ways in which a painter could end up with an injury…
Painting Injuries: Common Causes
Falls from ladders
One area that causes many painting injuries are slips and falls from ladders. Ladders are a very common tool for painters to use. After all, they help them get into those hard-to-reach areas. Still, they can also be a source of injury as well.
Many times, ladders will get drops of paint on them, making them slippery and increasing the risk of someone getting hurt. In other cases, someone might use the wrong ladder for the job at hand, or not have it secured properly. Having to carry up paint and equipment up them can also increase the chance of falling off.
Muscle pains and injury
Muscle-related injuries are also very common painting injuries. Throughout the course of a day, painters will have to constantly carry things like paint buckets, ladders, and other tools. This can easily wear them out, and exhaust the muscles in the arms.
Neck pain can also occur due to painters having to reach above their heads in order to do their jobs. Not only can this cause pain in the neck, but it can end up extending through the arms and back. The shoulders are another area where injury can pop up, as the continuous motions can take a toll and even cause rotator cuff tears.
Paint fumes
Something which you might not think about when considering painting injuries are those related to fumes. The fumes which come off of paint can actually be very dangerous. This is further complicated by the fact that many painters don’t work in areas which have proper ventilation.
Breathing in these fumes can cause issues with lungs. For instance, it could lead to things like asthma, bronchitis, or emphysema. Depending on the paint or chemicals used, they could even cause lung cancer. This is why more painters are wearing respirators, even for “simple” jobs.