An analysis from Washington University finds a large share of construction workers in Missouri, southern Illinois and Kansas are being diagnosed with chronic muscle and joint injuries each year, and many are prescribed opioid painkillers. "It’s a very severe problem, that starts with the back injuries, the shoulder and wrist injuries,” said Len Toenjes, president of the Associated General Contractors of Missouri.
File photo / Shahla Farzan
/ St. Louis Public Radio
Originally published on January 8, 2021 5:40 pm
St. Louis plumber Amanda Dace still remembers the moment the drill slipped from her hands, nearly two decades ago.
Dace, who was in her mid-30s and training as an apprentice, was cutting through a board to install a water spigot when she lost control of the drill, injuring her wrist. “All it took was a second,” she remembers. “It happens that fast.”