Why Summer is the Right Time to Talk Injury Prevention
With National Injury Prevention Day coming up on July 7, now is the perfect time to talk about injury prevention tips. In Ancaster and the Greater Hamilton Area, families are in full summer mode: children are out of school and often less supervised, families are travelling or simply spending more time outdoors, and summer students are working seasonal jobs. Whether at work or at play, preventing injuries should be a priority for everyone.
Why Injury Prevention Matters
Injuries affect Canadians in many ways. In Ontario, a 2024 Public Health Ontario report cited that injuries resulted in:
- 8,258 deaths
- 1.48 million emergency room visits
- 101,894 hospital stays
That is a whopping $12.2 billion annual cost to the province, and that figure includes more than just hospital bills. It reflects a combination of $7.6 billion in direct health care costs such as emergency visits, surgeries, rehabilitation, and medications, along with $4.6 billion in indirect costs from lost productivity, time off work, and long-term disabilities.
What Recent Workplace Injury Trends Tell Us
Within Canadian workplaces, the trend is also concerning.
According to a 2022 Federal Injury Report, Canadian employers experienced:
- A 10.9% rise in disabling workplace injuries
- A 52% increase in fatal accidents
These trends are yet another reminder that workplace injury prevention should be a priority for every employer and worker.
Simple Injury Prevention Tips for Home, Work, or Play
But there is good news because most injuries are preventable.
Whether you are at work, home, or simply enjoying summer activities, here are injury prevention tips to help keep everyone safe:
- Make your space work for you: Set up your desk, kitchen, or outdoor area to support good posture and movement. This includes removing objects that are a tripping hazard or at risk of moving or falling.
- Stay active and take breaks: Our bodies are designed to move. Whether sitting at a screen or gardening, break frequently and switch positions. If you’re playing a favourite sport or biking with the kids, consider warming up and stretching to get your body ready.
- Use the right gear correctly: Having appropriate protective gear is important. At work, ensure safety equipment is used as needed: this may include gear such as goggles, gloves, helmets, and work boots. At home and during play, ensure sports and recreation equipment is in good working order, and items such as helmets and lifejackets are correctly sized and secured.
- Cyclists can also check out these safe cycling tips.
- Model safe choices: Whether a parent or manager (or both!), set the correct tone by practicing habits that you expect of others
Need additional tools? Here are some great resources to get you started:
- For families: Parachute Canada’s Injury Prevention Topics
- For employers: Canadian Chiropractic Association’s Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention Toolkit
Don’t Ignore Muscle and Joint Pain
Back pain, sore joints, and general stiffness are more common than you think, especially for people doing repetitive tasks or lifting throughout the day. In fact, over 58% of Canadians report that musculoskeletal (MSK) pain affects their ability to do their job.
But MSK issues are not exclusive to adults. Kids, teens, and young adults can also experience MSK issues, especially with the increase in summer sports, outdoor play, and camp activities. Poor posture, heavy backpacks, and repetitive motions such as throwing, kicking, or swinging, can all lead to pain and strain over time.
Detecting issues early is important so don’t ignore your body if ‘something doesn’t feel right’ or hurts. Early intervention can prevent a small issue from becoming a bigger problem.
If you are managing a chronic injury or prone to a specific type, prevention strategies can also help. Ask us how you can reduce your risk and protect yourself from an injury repeating itself.
Summer goes by fast and no one wants to feel like they missed out because of a preventable injury.
An Extra Word of Caution for Parents
Summer is a season of opportunity for young people, whether they are stepping into their first job or spending long days outdoors. But with that freedom comes increased risk.
As cited by Parachute Canada, preventable injury kills more Canadian children than any disease and more youth than all other causes combined.
At Work: Young workers often face hazards due to limited experience or unfamiliar tasks. Ask your child if their employer:
- Provides hands-on training for the job
- Supervises closely during their first few weeks
- Encourages questions
- Provides a space where safety conversations can happen
- Assigns tasks that match their abilities and comfort level
At Home and in Play: Injuries can also occur while biking, swimming, participating in sports, or simply using playground equipment. Bubble wrapping our kids is not realistic (or recommended!) but parents can keep their kids safe by:
- Providing correctly sized and appropriate gear for activities
- Supervising water activities
- Practicing pool safety
- Promoting warm-ups and cool-downs for physical play
- Teaching road awareness for biking and walking near traffic
Consider boosting your brain knowledge to further protect your kids with our recent blog, Summer Safety: A Brain Injury Primer for Canadian Parents.
Turning Injury Prevention Tips to Action
Whether on the job, at home, or during summer adventure mode, injuries can happen but the majority are preventable. A few small steps today can help protect you and your loved ones tomorrow. From providing safer spaces to teaching kids how to play smart, we all play a role in building a safer community.
And if you are an employer or manager, now is the time to reinforce workplace safety. Start small, keep it simple, and take advantage of the tools and resources provided in this blog.
If you are in Ancaster or the Greater Hamilton Area and need support preventing or managing injuries, Alliance Chiropractic is here for you. Whether you are an employer concerned about workplace-related MSK issues, a parent of an active child, or a young athlete managing summer sport related injuries, we can help you get out of pain quickly and safely.
Our team provides personalized care for all ages, so you and your family can stay active and enjoy all that the summer has to offer.
Contact us if you have questions regarding this blog or any other health or wellness concern
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Information for this blog was sourced from: Public Health Ontario, Parachute Canada, chiropractic.ca, and Canada Public Health Injury Prevention