Maree Madden PhD 11 April 2011

1. Health and Safety for Auslan Interpreters:How to avoid getting a pain in the neck (or any other places) Maree Madden PhD 11 April 2011 Source: http://yvkl.fut.guidegoods.net/w/georgia-perimeter-languageshd.html Accessed 23 March 2011 via Google Images. (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

2. Objectives • Define OOS • Describe some of the causes of OOS • List factors which can contribute to OOS • Demonstrate warm up and cool down exercises Source: http://ericsaintguillain.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/stay-focused-on-your-goal/ Accessed 26 March 2011 via Google Images. (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

3. OOS Definition A collective term for a range of conditions characterised by: • discomfort or persistent pain in muscles, tendons and other soft tissues, • with or without physical manifestations • usually caused or aggravated by work and • is associated with repetitive movement, sustained or constrained postures and/or forceful movements (NOHSC, in Ewan et al., 1991:169). Source: http://www.ohs.unsw.edu.au/ohs_hazards/overuse.html Accessed 23 March 2011 via Google Images (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

4. Categories There are five general categories of OOS: 1. Polymyalgia (pain in a number of muscles) 2. Syndromes including tendonitis (an inflammation of the tendon characterised by swelling and tenderness) and 3. Epicondylitis or “tennis elbow”(chronic tendonitis of the wrist and finger extensors at their insertion point at the elbow). Source: http://www.virginiarsi.org/ Accessed 23 March 2011 via Google Images (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

5. Categories 4. Inflammations of joints and joint linings or friction between the tendon and tendon sheath 5. Disorders of muscles and ligaments (ligaments are strong bands of fibrous tissue which serve to bind together the bones entering into a joint)(Macpherson, 1995:288) Other soft tissue injuries such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

6. Causes OOS may result from: • tasks that impose a static load on the postural muscles of the neck and shoulder region (such as raising the arms), • as well as those involving static (low repetition) and dynamic (high repetition) loads on the arm and hand muscles. (Rempel, Harrison & Barnhart, 1992:838; Moore, Wells & Ranney, 1991:1434) (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

7. Stage 1 • Aching and/or fatigue of affected limbs occurring during work. Settles overnight and on days off. • No significant reduction of work performance. Usually no physical signs, e.g., swelling or crepitus. • Usual signs may include muscle and tendon tenderness, fatigue and discomfort. • Can persist for weeks or months (Brown, Nolan & Faithfull, 1987) (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

8. Stage 2 • Recurrent aching and fatigue occurring earlier and persist longer. • Symptoms fail to settle overnight, cause sleep disturbance and are associated with a reduced capacity for repetitive work. • Physical signs such as swelling may be present. Tingling and burning sensations, as well as pain and weakness, or loss of grip strength may also be present. • Usually persists for months. (Brown, Nolan & Faithfull, 1987) (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

9. Stage 3 • Persistent aching preventing the use of any of the muscle group; fatigue and weakness at rest and pain occurs with non-repetitive movements. • The symptoms cause disturbance of sleep. • The person is unable to perform less arduous or light duties and experiences difficulty with non-occupational tasks. • Physical signs such as swelling, numbness, colour or temperature changes and crepitus are present. • The condition may last for months or years. (Brown, Nolan & Faithfull, 1987) (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

10. Source: https://shop.algra.com/osb/itemdetails.cfm?ID=436 Accessed 23 March 2011 via Google Images (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

11. Personal or work-related? Bammer (1990:23) found little evidence for personal causes [for OOS] but strong evidence for work-related factors, particularly high pressure jobs where autonomy, variety and peer cohesion are lacking. Stress which comes from factors including monotony, work pressures, and inadequate breaks and access to leisure time may be a major contributor to the problem (Quinlan & Bohle, 1991:122) (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

12. Sign Language Interpreting: a high pressure job • lack of control over working conditions • lack of peer cohesion • inconsistency in client expectations and • high volume of work Source: http://www.rnid.org.uk/information_resources/communicating_better/communication_support/bsl_english_interpreters/ Accessed 26 March 2001 via Google Images. (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

13. What some of our colleagues said • Sometimes I feel as though they [the Deaf consumers] expect us to be God and fix up everything. • … I suppose you just use your common sense. If you’re wrong, you’re wrong and if you’re right, you’re right and that’s the place we’re put in all the time. • … Depending on the type of assignment you’re engaged in, it’s emotionally draining. • In terms of freelance situations, there are no [support] mechanisms in place … You’re out there on your own. It’s a very lonely profession. • When you do a good job, there is no-one around to reinforce it … There was no-one to say, “Hey that was a good job”. • I sometimes find it very demanding. I feel bad if I can’t go to work… I have to be really, really sick before I don’t go to work ‘cause I feel I’m letting them down. (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

14. Physical demands of Sign Language Interpreting • repetitive, forceful movements • sometimes awkward postures of the fingers, hand, wrist, forearm and shoulder • high velocity and acceleration of finger and hand movements • high static load on the muscles of the back, shoulders, neck and upper arms Source: http://interpretersalary.com/ Accessed 23 March 2011 via Google Images. (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

15. Effects of OOS - physical Difficulty performing daily activities such as: • Using a telephone • Writing • Showering and toileting • Dressing • Manipulating cutlery • Cleaning • Driving (Bammer & Blignault, 1988) Source: Google Images Accessed 26 March 2011 (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

16. Effects of OOS - psychological • Worry • Tension • Bewilderment • Depression • Guilt • Fear • Hopelessness • Helplessness • Inferiority • Stigmatisation • Anger Source: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/what-are-you-worried-about.html Accessed 26 March 2001 via Google Images. (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

17. What does research say? • American studies report rates of between 18% and 82%. • SLIANZ research (2005) reported 64% had or have a work-related injury. • My Australian research found 22% (with an additional 11% of respondents who described symptoms consistent with OOS). • FaHCSIA research (2004) reported that 35 interpreters raised the high risk of OOS as a work limitation. Source: http://www.jobsbump.com/2010/12/sign-language-interpreter-jobs-calgary/ Accessed 23 March 2011 via Google Images. (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

18. Findings • 20% of males (five out of 25) and 22% of females (18 out of 81) suffered from OOS • Prevalence of 12% in the less experienced group (< three years) and 65% for those who had worked seven to nine years, but 28% for > nine years • 27% of full-time and 18% of part-time. • All interpreters worked a varying number of hours per week (one to five days per week and two to five hours per day) (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

19. Conclusion Interpreters most at risk of developing OOS are those who interpret for more than four hours per day and have been in the field for more than seven years, regardless of whether they are employed on a full- or part-time basis. (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011 Source: http://www.footprintsnetwork.org/default.aspx?c=10&x1=14 Accessed 23 March 2011 via Google Images.

20. Consequences of interpreting • When I was interpreting, day after day, you are continually being bombarded with stimuli – the visual, or the auditory, everything. When you get more and more tired and more fatigued, more stress, more adrenalin pumping, you begin to get to the stage where you go on automatic pilot. When I got more and more tired …. It short-circuited and it started taking different paths, and the paths it took was the pain. So that every time I would start to interpret, I would feel the pain, and then it got to the stage that every time I would used my hands I would feel the pain …. I had to basically learn to do everything again. I learned to walk again, I learned to move my jaw again, I learned to speak, I learned to use my eyes again. At the moment I’m learning to use my fingers again. (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

21. A comment • It certainly has affected parts of my life. I can’t go canoeing or bungy jumping, lots of things like that I’ve always wanted to do in my life, I probably won’t be able to do them… I don’t run, I don’t play netball. I don’t do any sport. I’m very unfit, so all that side of my life has been affected… My life is not the same. I used to be a real never-sit-still type of person, now I’m just a blob. (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

22. Recommendations • Physical environment • Equipment • Job content • Management style and structure • Recruitment and selection procedures • Training • Hours of work • Recognition of other work issues (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011

23. In closing … • Interpreting is much more than an occupation - it’s a lifestyle and a culture. People become interpreters because they care about working in the Deaf community and when they become injured, they are deprived of an opportunity to interact with people whom they’ve grown to know and respect(Cergol, 1991:16). (C) Dr Maree Madden 2011 Source: http://www.chang-castilloseminars.com/52-becoming-a-sign-language-interpreter.html Accessed 26 March 2011 via Google Images.