Delivery driving is often regarded as the little brother of big-rig trucking, but in terms of work demands, it is actually a demanding multi-task occupation that requires enormous mental and physical strength.

Unlike long haul truckers, who unload only at the beginning and ending of the trip, and then often with the aid of forklifts  or platforms,  delivery drivers spend their entire day bending and lifting, loading and unloading merchandise at every stop. "Drivers don't always know what they're delivering on a daily basis," says Scott Madar, the Teamsters' national director of occupational health and safety. "Packages usually aren't labeled by weight. Drivers often end up assuming something's light, when it's actually way heavier than it looks."

In addition, they also need to navigate up and down stairs, through narrow pathways littered with obstacles such as narrow doorways, chairs, desks, and the like. Though they often take precautions such as bending at the knees, stopping periodically to stretch, and dividing loads into smaller parts whenever possible, these are often insufficient to keep a driver's neck or spine healthy.

Common injuries include:

UPS Driver Tony Little in Sandy, UT. Image used by permission of KSL (www.ksl.com)

Strains, sprains, muscle soreness, and back problems among delivery drivers are so common that, along with hospital workers, they top the list for on-the-job musculoskeletal injuries, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For the average route driver, whose daily bread depends on his or her ability to lift hefty boxes, strains in the muscles, ligaments and tendons -- or injuries to joints or cartilage -- can result in costly downtime or even spell the end to a career.

PSR®, Professional Safeguard Resources®, for 25 years has specialized in preventing human capital injury losses (primarily back injuries, neck injuries, shoulder injuries, falling injuries) and all types of effort related CTD's (Cumulative Disability Disorders) and MSD's (Musculoskeletal Disorders) in the labor intensive, HRIE (High Risk Injury Employees) workforces, including primary freight distribution companies from Mohawk Industries to Perrier USA (97% of spring water companies in U.S.) and Coca Cola Bottling Co.

PSR® is a synthesis of western orthopedic practices and Eastern (Asian) biomechanic and therapeutic sciences. PSR® uniquely establishes a reflexive self strengthening work experience in the most awkward of circumstances. The system matures with minimum follow-up to become part of the workforce culture.

The PSR® slogan is "If the work experience does not make you stronger, and you do not feel it making you stronger, it is breaking you down"©. This is particularly true for a package distribution employee who bends 1,000 or more times a day.

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