"But that I can save him from days of torture, that is what I feel as my great ever new previlege.
Pain is a more terrible lord of mankind than even death itself."

--Albert Schweitzer

In 1996, Louis Harris and Associates asked both employees and employee benefit managers (EBMs) about pain in the workplace, and the poll revealed startling facts about alarming costs and misconceptions about the extent and impact of work related pain

According to the survey, pain accounted for an average of three sick days per worker in the last year, while EBMs estimated that workers who call in sick due to pain miss 9 to 10 days per year. The price tag extrapolated to the total full-time worker in the United States suggests that pain accounted for about 25% of all sick days during 1995, the equivalent of 50 million lost workdays. Conservatively, the estimated wages lost due to pain is $3 billion per year.

These figures do not include cost of replacement workers, disability, and worker’s compensation paid. About 8% of full-time employees have gone on short-term disability because of pain conditions, for an average leave of 17 days. EBM’s believe that pain’s effects go beyond sporadic absenteeism such as employee productivity, morale, company profitability, quality control, not to mention increased health insurance premiums.

In a special report of Business and Health (Fall ‘96), obstacles to dealing more effectively with pain in the workplace are identified as an overall lack of understanding of conditions causing pain, lack of coordination of health care benefits, delays in proper treatment, and a lack of a wellness or employee education programs that adequately deals with pain related issues.

The report emphasizes the importance of early intervention in pain conditions, treatment by a physician with appropriate credentials as a pain specialist, access to inter or multi-disciplinary pain management programs, and utilization of wellness or special worksite injury prevention programs.

The good news for employers is that Advanced Pain Care has spent years developing an integrated pain care delivery system that incorporates all the necessary components recommended by the Business and Health special report. Our board certified physicians, our interdisciplinary treatment program, and our state-of-the-art pain treatment facilities provide employers a cost-effective resource for their employees suffering from injury and/or pain.

Our corporate programs are available to assure not only successful treatment after an injury or pain condition occurs, but to also provide preventative programs for pain related to repetitive task injuries such as lower back injury and carpal tunnel syndrome. Our unique worksite injury prevention programs can be custom designed to evaluate the ergonomics of specific tasks, to teach practical strategies for avoiding or reducing pain and injury, and to provide regularly scheduled evaluation and preventative treatment on-site or in our facilities that can have obvious benefits for both employer and employee.

Written by Dan Taylor L.P.C., L.M.F.T.

Fellow, American Academy of Pain Management

President of Advanced Pain Care

Directory

	Newsletter - Main Page
	When Should You Get Treatment For Trauma From A Vehicle Accident?
	Real Challenges, Real Solutions
	Meet the Physician
	Pain Pointers
	Pain Talk
	Previous Issues