A chiropractic occupational health specialist helps to prevent and treat workplace injuries. Would you believe that workplace ailments have been a topic of medical concern for over 300 years? In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Bernardino Ramazinni, an Italian physician, had pinpointed over 4 dozen health problems from work-related events or conditions.
In our modern workplace, 60%-70% of health problems affect the neuro-musculoskeletal system. Construction workers, nurses and truck drivers top the list, although even office workers suffer occupational health injuries from repetitive motions such as typing on computers. These types of musculoskeletal injuries are (of course) what a chiropractor specializes in treating. So it’s not at all surprising that chiropractors are being asked more frequently to help employees recover from such injuries and to help their employers prevent them in the future.
Employers in America are being particularly hard-hit with skyrocketing health insurance costs, spending billions of dollars each year simply to comply with a wide range of government regulations. But—all this money aside—employers also continue to suffer from the financial impact of lost productivity, absenteeism, turnover and re-training costs that often comes with injuries in the workplace.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the following occupations involve the highest levels of risk for injuries to the spine or other parts of the neuro-musculoskeletal system:
- Construction, manufacturing, warehousing and manual material-handling occupations
- Trucking industries
- Healthcare and nursing home facilities
- Labor involving repetitive motions
- Jobs that require long periods of sitting
- Any mixture of these job activities
A Chiropractic Occupational Health Specialist who is a Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Board on Occupational Health (DACBOH) can help by providing on-site chiropractic services and consultation regarding ergonomic needs, structural care, nutritional and lifestyle concerns.
The benefits from on-site chiropractic consultation and services can be as simple as improved morale and as profound as decreased absenteeism. A single DACBOH chiropractor can provide consultation to small companies (25–500 employees), while large companies (10,000+ employees) may include a chiropractor as part of a team of health professionals. Such teams may also include occupational medical doctors, occupational nurses, and other non-medical staff.
In addition to on-site services, a DACBOH chiropractor can also provide full-time consultation to an industry, including ergonomic workplace design modifications. Or the specialist can provide post-hire, pre-placement physical screenings of employees. And because chiropractic care involves non-invasive methods for treating health-related conditions, employees who require this care often experience speedier recoveries with none of the side-effects from drugs and surgery.
Companies often find themselves challenged by all the regulations intended to protect their employees. However, workplace safety and corporate wellness programs can also delivery meaningful benefits for the business it they are thoughtfully designed and properly supported by management. In this context, a chiropractic occupational health specialist can help your company reduce “soft costs” related to lower on-the-job productivity, absenteeism and turnover as well as “hard costs” related to workplace injuries and healthcare insurance.
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help promote wellness in the workplace, please call our office.