Musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) represent 50% of all injury- and disease-related claims in Australia, and nearly 70% of long-term claim payouts. While some are caused by accidents, the most common way they occur is through ‘body stressing’, which comes from repetitive movements, carrying things that are too heavy, or carrying them the wrong way. While musculoskeletal injuries used to be mostly something high risk industries thought about, they’re increasingly impacting office workers and other traditionally low risk industries. We know MSIs can have a huge effect on a client’s workforce and business, so here we look at the impacts and ways we can help manage MSIs in the workforce.

Impacts of MSI

Injuries like these can range from intermittent pain, all the way through to debilitation that affects the ability to work or even carry out basic tasks. These injuries can also be a precursor to significant stress and reduced cognitive abilities, which decrease productivity and create the possibility for further claims.

The stages of intervention

There are three stages to intervention – primary, secondary and tertiary.

• Primary interventions involve avoiding exposure to dangerous or high-risk situations. Training, proper equipment and a safety-focused culture are by far the most effective ways to prevent high-risk situations which may lead to MSIs. GB provides clients with free access to a range of training programs which can help you implement these in your workforce. Additionally, there are a number of risk factors which can increase the likelihood of MSIs, including smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, weight issues, work life balance, dehydration, lack of sleep and poor posture. By analysing your claims history you can understand which of these are the biggest contributors to MSIs in your workforce, and design targetted interventions accordingly.
• Secondary intervention is about identifying MSIs early – for example, identifying strain from a repetitive motion, and thus putting a stop to that motion or putting exercises in place to reduce its affects. Secondary interventions should be tailored to the specific needs of the worker; the most important overall strategy you can put in place is to make sure employees notify you about the signs of MSI by building a proactive reporting culture.
• Tertiary interventions involve MSIs that have been clinically diagnosed, and usually involve rehabilitation and return-to-work management. The most important thing you can do here is make sure you're partnering with a Claims Agent who fully supports you and your workforce.

Primary interventions are the most effective, but understanding each stage is important when it comes to lowering the costs and impacts of MSIs.

Make the return to work … work!

Once an injury has occurred, ensure you have a return-to-work plan in place that recognises the effects of the injury. As discussed above, MSIs are often a precursor to stress and mental-health-related claims. A plan that accounts for this can ensure your employee gets back to work sooner, without exacerbating their injury or creating any others.

Managing the impacts of MSIs is critical for maintaining a healthy workplace and a manageable premium. While there is a lot you can do to ensure a safe workplace, having a partner that can assess your practices, help with return-to-work planning and manage the effects of these claims means you’ll get the best possible outcome, and keep your workforce happy and healthy in the process!