Cost of Pain - Part II

The Cost of WMSDs

So, now that we have had an introduction to Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in various work environments, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Do you know what the costs of WMSDs are to your bottom line? Do you think trying to prevent WMSDs in the workplace is too costly? Do you think such efforts a waste of time and money? Let’s look at some official statistics, some of which are a few years old but the information is still valid today.

• “MSDs account for 43% of all work-related injuries, 43% of all lost-time claim costs, and 46% of all lost-time days.” (Source: MOL: Prevention Workplace Pains and Strains! It's time to take action!)
• “Between 2003 and 2007, MSD claims resulted in 2.5 million days off work. During this same period, Ontario employers paid more than $1 billion in direct and indirect costs related to MSDs. Indirect costs include overtime, equipment modifications, administration, retraining and lost productivity.” (WSPS - Workplace Safety and Prevention Services - (https://www.wsps.ca/Information-Resources/Topics/MSDs.aspx)
• “Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) represent a major public health problem and economic burden to employers, workers and health insurance systems. In the United States between 1992 and 2010, WMSDs accounted for 29–35% of all occupational injuries and illnesses and accounted for a large number of work days lost as compared to other occupational illnesses. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5721617/)
• Upper limb disorders account for 21.7% of claims to the Worker's Compensation Insurance Board of Ontario, with shoulder injuries affecting 6.3% of workers in Ontario (WSIB, 2013). Occupationally-derived musculoskeletal disorders are extremely costly, including direct costs associated with medical costs related to treatment and indirect costs associated with reduced time at work and lower productivity (Bhattacharya, 2014;Davis et al., 2014). 

Sounds pretty bad, doesn’t it? Are you convinced now that WMSDs are a serious issue for employers?

Let’s add some dollar figures to these stats: the total cost of musculoskeletal disorders in Canada was $25.6 billion (in 1994 Canadian dollars, $1.00 CDN approximately $0.75 US) or 3.4% of the gross domestic product. Direct and indirect costs were estimated at $7.5 billion and $18.1 billion, respectively. The average annual cost per person for treatment of a musculoskeletal condition is $7,800.

Spare no expense to make everything as economical as possible. - Samuel Goldwyn 

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Tips to Prevent WMSDs in your business

Raise Awareness (Recognition): Spend time in your business observing employees executing their job tasks. When observing employees at work, watch for:

• awkward movements/positions
• excessive lifting 
• repetitive tasks
• homemade modifications (e.g. standing on a box)
• injury/pain behaviour (e.g. rubbing joints)
• Corporate Wellness Program

Take Steps to Prevent MSDs in Your Workplace (Controls):

• Train employees to recognize MSD hazards
• Train employees on proper lifting techniques
• Address ergonomic principles in safe work practices and in safe work instructions
• Consider the impact of overtime on the risk of injury
• Use proper equipment to help reduce the force required to complete tasks (i.e. eliminate lifting and pushing)
• Set up workstations and design workflow to minimize awkward positions
• Put task and job rotations in place to minimize the risk of sprains and strains.
• Include MSD hazards in workplace inspections
• Encourage reporting of MSD hazards
• Ask employees for their opinion on how to reduce MSD hazards in their work area
• Praise and encourage employees who are working safely
• Treat MSDs the same as any other workplace injury or incident: investigate and follow-up
• Lead by example 

Give Guidelines to Employees Who Work from Home: In these days when more and more people have to work from home due to lockdowns, it would be a good idea to give some guidelines to your employees on how to avoid MSDs at home. If for no other reason, it shows that you care about their health and well-being.

As mentioned above, “Tech Neck” is now an informal term for MSDs acquired through using a computer and other devices.

Here are some tips to help your employees work safely from home:

• Cramped Screens: Many people were sent home with laptops for work, and the smaller screens can feel constraining. You could get them a second monitor for their desk, for example, a high-resolution 27-inch monitor.
• Body Pains: Without help from an ergonomic specialist, your employee may run into problems like wrist pain, neck strain and a sore back. They can remedy wrist pains with an ergonomic keyboard, or a comfortable wireless mouse.

If their backs are killing them, advise them to invest in a well-built office chair, or a standing desk (within an approved budget of course). This is an investment to help keep productivity high even though they are working from home. Remember Samuel Goldwyn’s advice: Spare no expense to make everything as economical as possible.

Phyxable Helps to Reduce Treatment Costs. How?

According to the Canadian Physiotherapy Association, the industry average for patients who drop out of their treatment plans prior to discharge is an overwhelming 70%. That’s a retention rate of just 30%. This is typically due to lack of funding to complete their treatment plans or an inability to juggle travel time and work schedules. 

• Phyxable has reimagined physical therapy by supporting patients with digital content, engagement, and tracked behaviour. These tools and services have demonstrated exceptional patient engagement across the platform, while being 80% more cost-efficient while requiring 90% less patient time.
• They have done this by creating a gamified digital experience. This has provided patients with more relevant feedback and engagement metrics which has resulted in better patient experiences, leading to higher patient retention, and better outcomes. This in turn has significantly reduced costs from an average of $980 per incident for service charges to $650 (a 34% cost reduction) in the guided experience, and $120 for the low-touch program model (an 88% cost reduction).
• Patients also experienced pain reduction through a virtual-guided approach where they saw the practitioner once a week for the duration of 7 weeks, while performing their exercises, self-massaging with foam rollers, and stretching at home using the Phyxable gamified experience. 
• In Phyxable’s gamified digital experience, they successfully increased patient retention to 61%, a 103.3% increase compared to traditional in-clinic experiences.

In conclusion, you may not be able to completely prevent WMSDs from ever happening in your business, in fact, because human beings are not perfect, you will have at least one case. But, with the information above, you will be able to significantly reduce the incidences of WMSDs and significantly limit, the cost to your bottom line.

This article was originally posted on the Phyxable blog. Check it out here: https://bit.ly/3v8Od6b