Preventing injury in the workplace allows employers to provide a happy and healthy environment for their employees while also allowing those employees to stay safe and healthy to do what they love at work and at home. That is our number one priority, help our clients provide that exact environment to their employees. No one wants to have an injury that resulted from their job that then interferes with their ability to do their job, provide for their loved ones, and make the activities they enjoy at home difficult to do. The good news is a lot of the most common injuries we see in the workplace can be prevented and we are here to help.

Statistics

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (UBLS), in 2018, the number one and number two reasons people missed work due to injury were from sprains, strains, and tears and soreness and pain respectively. Overall, since 2014, all workplace injury has decreased, however; missed time due to soreness and pain surpassed its number in 2014. Musculoskeletal disorders accounted for 30.3% of all workplace injury cases that resulted in missing days at work. Of those injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis are behind only multiple injuries with fractures, amputations, and fractures for median days away from work. Sprains, strains and tears along with soreness and pain are right behind them.

As a physical therapist who treats these exact injuries in the clinic with success, its astounding to me that injuries that can be successfully treated (and therefore prevented in most cases) are almost as likely to make you miss work as losing a limb is. According to the report, people who had an amputation only missed one more day of work compared to those who had carpal tunnel syndrome. This is alarming to me! Carpal tunnel syndrome is a nerve entrapment and irritation issue that, I find, is often misdiagnosed as simply an issue at the carpal tunnel (more on what this means and where it is in future blogs). The potential for a patient to get passed around to multiple medical providers before finding a solution that may or may not work likely adds to the missed time from work. And don’t get me wrong, carpal tunnel and tendonitis can be tricky to treat once they start. Preventing them, though, is a lot easier and lot more cost effective.

Injury Prevention Will Save Your Company Money

Preventing all neuromusculoskeletal injury is simply more cost effective. The National Safety Council reports that in 2018, preventable workplace injury cost employers $1,100 PER EMPLOYEE on average. On a per injury basis, specifically if the employee had to seek medical attention, the loss totaled $41,000. Again, thats per injury. When we factor in that there are 2.8 injuries per 100 employees, this means an employer, on average, could spend $114,800 PER YEAR should each of those injuries require medical attention. Even if medical attention was not needed for any of the injuries, an employer with 100 employees is still spending a minimum of $110,000. On top of all of that, the employer still has to pay for workers’ compensation insurance.

Why Injury Prevention is Critical

We work for a variety of reasons. I would say most of us really enjoy what we do and if that allows us to make the money we need to take care of our families without worrying about our finances, even better. Icing on the cake so to speak. But no matter your financial situation, the physical, mental, and economic tole that missing work due to a PREVENTABLE injury can have is immense and, for some, life altering. These injuries won’t only effect the ability to work, but also the ability to do what you love outside of work with your friends and family. WorkFitME is committed to help you help your employees live their life at work, and outside of it, pain free. Contact us today for more information on how we can prevent you and your employees from becoming an alarming statistic.