Avoid static muscle loading. Reduce both the weight and size of the tool. Do not raise or extend elbows when working with heavy tools. Provide counter-balanced support devices for larger, heaver tools. Avoid stress on soft tissues.
Stress concentrations result from poorly designed tools that exert pressure on the palms or fingers.
Examples include short-handled pliers and tools with finger grooves that do not fit the worker's hand. Reduce grip force requirements. The greater the effort to maintain control of a handtool, the higher the potential for injury. A compressible gripping surface rather than hard plastic may alleviate this problem. Whenever possible, select tools that use a full-hand power grip rather than a precision finger grip.