What are MSDs?
Musculoskeletal Disorders are injuries that occur from repetitive stress and overuse that affects your muscles, ligaments, tendons and even nerves and tendons.
A few examples of MSDs:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Tendinitis
- Epicondylitis (aka Tennis elbow)
- Rotator cuff
- Ligament sprains
- Lower back strains
- Trigger finger/thumb
Basically, MSDs are injuries causing damage and pain to a human's moving parts that can affect them for a few days, if movement is stopped and the injuries are treated, or a few years. Or even their entire life, leading to permanent disability.
MSDs are costly to the injured and the company's that employ them because most are due to the type of work they perform on a daily basis. According to a recent survey, over 2/3 of people said their job caused or made their MSD condition worse. MSDs account for most of the lost work time injury claims and lost work days.
Workers in industrial settings are subject to risk factors that increase the chances for MSDs:
- High Exertion Forces
- Static Postures and Awkward Movements
- High Repetition
Add to that physical contact, long-term vibrations, and excessive temperatures and you have a recipe for MSDs.
Since employers are largely responsible for proving a safe work environment, much has been done. In most situations, workers are given safety equipment and training and safety rules. But many companies are still spending a lot of money and losing a lot of work time for something that can be reduced or possibly eliminated.
But, here's the most important thing — MSDs are largely preventable.
How Can Employers Reduce Workplace MSDs?
It's actually quite simple. Ergonomics and injury support while the workers are onsite.
ERGONOMICS
An ergonomics program allows employers to recognize the job functions and hazards that cause MSDs with site assessments and employee evaluations. A qualified program can proactively eliminate common injuries through jobsite analysis.
Coaching can improve pre-work programs to reduce MSDs and improve how employees perform repetitive motions and high-force exertions. An ergonomics professional or team can tailor stretching, flexibility and strengthening routines specifically tied to work stations and help people avoid repetitive motion issues.
An ergonomics and human performance program will help reduce the risk of recordables and claims by conducting personalized job coaching, based on your worksite - to add preventative procedures such as pre-shift warmups, micro-breaks, custom conditioning, sleep programs, and even nutritional advice.
And this can all be done virtually, without having to hire anyone or bring them onsite.
INJURY SUPPORT
For injury support, it can be just as easy.
When workers get injured on the job, they usually have to leave the facility for evaluations and treatment. This leads to lost wages and hassle for the employee and lower productivity and higher costs for the employer. It could also mean that workers forego treatment until they injury gets much worse, leading to longer time away and more visits to providers.
With a virtual injury triage platform, you can increase safety by giving workers easy access to licensed, certified healthcare professionals remotely. And because it's done via a telehealth kiosk, mobile app, or phone hotline, workers are inclined to seek help immediately, before an MSD injury gets worse. With access to a virtual healthcare pro, you can provide coverage for every employee, on every shift, at every location 24/7/365.
What is the ROI on Virtual Injury Prevention and Ergonomics?
Adding an ergonomics program and instituting a virtual injury triage and prevention solution, industrial companies can no longer look at these as an expense. They are, as it turns out, an investment.
In a study, after considering the time, resources, costs, and the results of such programs, they calculated:
"The value of the impact of improved ergonomics and injury reduction to fall between $2,977 and $4,854 per year (based on the incidence of MSDs and workers' compensation costs of each site). Removing MSD risk factors typically reduces non-value-added motions and is measured as an improvement in throughput or productivity. Based on participant reports of productivity improvement, the value of the impact of improved ergonomics was calculated to fall between $42,538 and $305,833 per year (based on the ergonomic improvement having a 5% impact on productivity).
The study also factored in the improvement of product quality, employee retention, and employee engagement. When they looked at the return on investment for ergonomic and injury prevention programs, they found the average to be 378%.
At Healthy Roster, we can help you reduce your injuries and MSDs by providing safety coverage for your people without adding new team members or breaking your budget. Our Virtual Injury Prevention platform provides:
- Virtual Ergonomic Evaluations
- Remote Injury Prevention
- Telehealth Injury Triage
- and Safety Team Augmentation
Let's us help you get a return on your MSD prevention investment today. Talk to us to see how we help today.