For many industries, medical treatment of musculoskeletal concerns drives healthcare costs and OSHA recordables. Overexertion continues to be the leading cause of loss – more than $13 billion in 20191. What if you could avoid 85 to 95 percent of workers’ compensation claims related to a soft tissue diagnosis?
How do you do it? The key is onsite early intervention by injury prevention experts such as Athletic Trainers (ATs). Athletic Trainers are highly qualified, multi-skilled healthcare professionals who specialize in the prevention, assessment, and treatment of musculoskeletal injuries and illness. Their unique training and expertise make them ideal for helping workers avoid cumulative trauma and repetitive motion injuries. By pursuing an early intervention strategy with the help of ATs or other experts, you’ll be able to take proactive control over your worksite to avoid OHSA recordable injuries without undermining safety and health efforts. Early intervention is used by industry frontrunners, including major sports leagues and leading companies, as a way to contain their healthcare costs and improve productivity.
Recent interpretations from OSHA clarify the contrast between recordable and non-recordable events, and understanding the difference between the two can help your organization take steps to prevent sprain/strain injuries from becoming recordable. In general, OSHA requires a work-related injury or illness to be recorded if it results in death, time away from work, the need to restrict work or transfer to another job, loss of consciousness, medical treatment beyond first aid, or other conditions that require advanced treatment. On the other hand, injuries are generally not recordable if they do not require medical care beyond first aid.2
Picture how this helps you manage cumulative trauma injuries: not every strain or sprain need become a recordable. In fact, a comprehensive work-injury program draws upon numerous proven strategies that improve health and safety. Integrating ergonomics, body mechanics training, targeted stretching, first aid, job coaching and other steps prepares companies with a wholistic bundle of cost-effective methods to effectively manage sprain/strain injuries, ensuring that they can be prevented or treated before becoming OSHA recordable events.
OSHA allows a narrow window of opportunity to intervene – that’s the key. Let us help you steer clear of running up unnecessary medical costs. Through our onsite services, our injury prevention experts will assess workplace factors in order to identify poor ergonomic conditions that could contribute to discomfort and injury. We can also review your recordkeeping logs and work with your employees to develop solutions that make sense. Contact us today at https://performance-ergonomics.com/#contact to schedule a consultation.
Source: www.libertymutualinsurance.com.
1 The 2019 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index is based on non-fatal 2016 injury data, with more than 5 days away from work. To allow for cost development every Index has been based on claims data 3 years prior to publication.
2. https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1904