the truth hurts - colorado | eley law firmthe truth hurts a closer look at back injuries in the...
TRANSCRIPT
THE TRUTH HURTS A Closer Look At Back Injuries In The Workforce
A WHITE PAPER PRESENTED BY
SPECIALIZING IN WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
You may be aware that our nation’s economy has improved considerably
over the last several years. While this has resulted in rising home prices
and consumer spending, it has also stimulated job growth, meaning there
are now significantly more employment opportunities throughout the
private sector.
Consider a recently released report, which indicated that the United
States added an estimated 241,000 jobs in December 2014.1 Closer
to home, this report revealed that the Mountain States gained roughly
21,000 jobs in the private sector, including 5,500 here in Colorado.2
As encouraging as this has been, it must be noted that the rate of work
injuries has remained relatively static throughout this post-recession
recovery.
To illustrate, statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that
the number of reported cases of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses
in the private sector stood at 3,063,400 in 2010, 3,034,500 in 2011,
3,027,600 in 2012 and 3,007,300 in 2013, the most recent year for which
such data is available.3
Chief among these rather high rates of occupational injuries and illnesses
are musculoskeletal injuries, which comprised a whopping 33 percent of
cases in 2013 alone.4 For those unfamiliar with the term musculoskeletal
injury, it is used to describe injuries to the muscles, ligaments, tendons,
joints and other structures that comprise the body’s musculoskeletal
system, and which can inhibit regular, fluid movement.
While work-related musculoskeletal injuries can occur virtually anywhere
in the body from the feet and hands to the neck and shoulders, they are
especially likely to affect the back. Indeed, BLS statistics indicate that there
were 183,100 cases involving back injuries in 2011, 178,190 in 2012 and
170,450 in 2013.5
WHY ARE SO MANY WORKERS SUFFERING SO MANY DEBILITATING BACK INJURIES?
© 2015 by Eley Law Firm. All rights reserved. Design and editorial services by FindLaw, part of Thomson Reuters. 2
3,007,300INJURY & ILLNESS
CASES IN 2013
170,450BACK-SPECIFIC CASES IN 2013
If you’ve been in the workforce for any significant amount of time, it’s
highly likely that you’ve witnessed a co-worker suffer some type of back
injury. Perhaps you’ve even suffered such an injury yourself. You’ve
probably even found yourself wondering why such injuries are
so common.
The reality is that the high rate of back-related musculoskeletal injuries
among workers is attributable to a variety of events and other exposures.
However, there are at least three causes to which much of this back-
related trauma can be linked: overexertion, repetitive motion and falls.
OVEREXERTIONOne of the leading causes of back injuries among private sector workers,
overexertion involves a person exceeding his or her physical limitations
during the course of employment or, perhaps more simply put, pushing
the soft tissues of his or her body too far.
To get an idea of just how common overexertion injuries
are, consider that Liberty Mutual Research Institute for
Safety’s 2014 Workplace Safety Index ranked them as
the leading cause of workplace injuries lasting a
minimum of six days in 2012.6 Furthermore, BLS data
shows that there were 322,310 cases of “overexertion
and bodily reaction” injuries, and 107,910 cases of
“overexertion in lifting and lowering” in 2013.7
Overexertion injuries resulting in back trauma are typically
related to otherwise mundane physical activities like lifting,
bending, pushing, pulling, carrying, throwing or bending at the waist.
By way of illustration, consider a nurse who hurts her back while moving
a patient from a gurney to a hospital bed, a warehouse worker who hurts
his back pulling a heavy object in the absence of any mechanical assistance
or an office worker who hurts her back bending over to reach a tangle of
computer cords.
© 2015 by Eley Law Firm. All rights reserved. Design and editorial services by FindLaw, part of Thomson Reuters. 3
COMMON CAUSES OF BACK INJURIES ON THE JOB
OVER EXERTION IS THE NO. 1 CAUSE
OF WORKPLACE INJURIES
REPETITIVE MOTIONRepetitive motion injuries result when a worker engages in
uninterrupted strenuous physical activity and/or uninterrupted awkward
physical motions that push the soft tissues of the body beyond its limits.
Liberty Mutual’s 2014
Workplace Safety Index
ranked repetitive motion
injuries as the ninth-
leading cause of
workplace injuries
lasting a minimum
of six days in 2012,8
while BLS data
reveals there were
24,420 cases of
injuries related to
“repetitive motion involving
microtasks” in 2013.9
Repetitive motion injuries resulting in back trauma can typically be
attributed to activities involving bending, twisting or reaching. While
these activities often don’t cause injury when performed carefully and
sparingly, they can cause temporary or even permanent damage if they
are performed hour-after-hour, day-after-day, week-after-week or
even year-after-year.
Examples may include an assembly line worker who hurts his back packing
medium-sized items into crates all day long, twisting to pull them off the line
and then bending over to put them in position. Similarly, consider an office
worker who hurts his back after being forced to answer phone calls year
round without a headset, keeping a phone pinned to his ear with his
shoulder and stooping over to type notes.
© 2015 by Eley Law Firm. All rights reserved. Design and editorial services by FindLaw, part of Thomson Reuters. 4
REPETITIVE MOTION INJURIES ARE THE 9TH-LEADING CAUSE OF WORKPLACE
INJURIES
FALLS Both falls on the same level and falls to lower levels are another leading
cause of back-related musculoskeletal injuries among workers.
Liberty Mutual’s 2014
Workplace Safety Index
ranked falls on the same
level and falls to lower
levels as the second-
and fourth-leading
causes, respectively,
of workplace injuries
lasting a minimum of
six days in 2012.10
BLS data also shows
there were 141,060 cases
of injuries related to “falls
on same level” and 47,120 cases
of injuries related to “falls to lower
level” in 2013.11
The causes of fall injuries resulting in back trauma vary from slipping,
tripping or falling on cluttered, wet or uneven walking surfaces to
tumbles from improperly positioned ladders, or into improperly secured
holes in floors and walls.
To illustrate, imagine a construction worker who hurts his back after falling
through a floor opening that wasn’t properly marked off, or an office worker
who hurts his back slipping on a wet floor en route to a meeting.
© 2015 by Eley Law Firm. All rights reserved. Design and editorial services by FindLaw, part of Thomson Reuters. 5
FALLS ON THE SAME &FALLS ON LOWER LEVELS
ARE THE 2ND & 4TH LEADING CAUSES OF WORKPLACE
INJURIES
ATLAS ( C1)AXIS ( C2)
C3
C4
C5
C6
C7
CERVICALVERTEBRAE
THORACICVERTEBRAE
LUMBARVERTEBRAE
SACRUM
COCCYX
T1T2T3T4
T5T6T7T8T9
T10T11T12
L1L2L3L4L5
1
2
3
Now that you are familiar with three of the leading causes
of back-related musculoskeletal trauma among workers,
it’s time to examine three of the more common types of
these injuries: strains and sprains, and herniated discs. This
examination, however, must be prefaced by an examination
of the structures of the back itself.
THE SPINE: THE COMPLEX ANATOMY OF A MOVING MACHINEIn general terms, the spinal column is composed of 24 small
bones known as vertebrae, which stack one on top of the
other and together form the protective hollow column
through which the spinal cord runs.
These vertebrae are divided into three distinct regions.
Starting from the top, the first seven vertebrae — located in
the neck area — are known as the cervical vertebrae. These
are followed by the next 12 vertebrae — located in the chest
area — known as the thoracic vertebrae and the final five
vertebrae — located in the lower back area — known as the
lumbar vertebrae.
Situated between each of these 24 vertebrae are
gelatinous discs that serve as a sort of shock absorber and
which prevent the vertebrae from rubbing against one
another. Each of these vertebrae is held together by facet
joints that enable bending and moving, and ligaments that
serve to prevent excess movement by these same joints.
Finally, the muscles of the body are attached to the spinal
column via tendons, while 31 pairs of nerve roots branch
off the spine in the spaces between the vertebrae. These
nerve roots are responsible for carrying the messages
transmitted by the brain via the spinal cord.
© 2015 by Eley Law Firm. All rights reserved. Design and editorial services by FindLaw, part of Thomson Reuters. 6
THE SPINAL COLUMN
COMMON TYPES OF BACK INJURIES ON THE JOB
(CONTINUED)STRAINS AND SPRAINSWhile you’ve likely heard the terms sprain and strain used
interchangeably in the context of back injuries, they are actually
two very distinct conditions. In the former, the ligaments
between the vertebrae are either stretched or
torn, while in the latter, the muscles and tendons
connected to the spine are either pulled or torn.
Workers typically sprain their backs
because of a sudden twisting motion, fall or
other traumatic event that moves the facet
joint outside its normal range of movement.
Conversely, workers typically strain their
backs because of either single events that
place an undue amount of stress on the back
muscles or ongoing, repetitive movements
that take a cumulative toll on the back muscles.
To illustrate, consider a worker who suddenly loses
his footing after tripping on an uneven warehouse
floor surface, wrenching his back in an attempt to regain
balance, or a retail worker who hyperextends her back muscles
while reaching overhead to retrieve merchandise.While sprains and strains can often
be treated effectively via rest, ice,
compression and over-the-counter
anti-inflammatory drugs, they can
sometimes prove to be very severe,
necessitating physical therapy or
even surgical intervention. Some-
times these interventions don’t
prove to be enough, however, as
workers are diagnosed with chronic
back pain, a condition that can side-
line them for months, years or even
keep them out of work altogether.
© 2015 by Eley Law Firm. All rights reserved. Design and editorial services by FindLaw, part of Thomson Reuters. 7
HERNIATED DISCSIn the discussion of the anatomy of the spine, we mentioned the gelatinous
discs located between each of the 24 vertebrae in your spinal column. This is a
rather complicated feature of the spine. However, a helpful way to think about
the structure of these discs is to envision a jelly doughnut complete with a soft
jelly center and a harder exterior designed to keep this jelly contained.
When a disc is herniated, it means that this soft jelly actually protrudes from
the center through cracks that have developed in the exterior of the disc.
While it’s possible that this condition — sometimes referred to as a slipped
disc, bulging disc or ruptured disc — won’t even register to some, it can
irritate or put pressure on the surrounding nerves resulting in
weakness or tingling in the extremities.
For example, if a herniated disc is located between
the cervical vertebrae, a person may experience
intense pain radiating through his or her
shoulder and arm. Similarly, if a herniated disc
is located between the lumbar vertebrae
— the most common location of herniated
discs — a person may experience intense
pain radiating down through his or her leg, a
condition known as sciatica.
Workers typically suffer herniated discs
thanks to overexertion. However, repetitive
motion tasks involving pushing, pulling, bending
and twisting, as well as falls are also to blame.
Treatment for herniated discs varies from medication
and physical therapy to surgical intervention. This surgical
intervention might involve a microdiscectomy, which consists of
removing the portion of herniated disc, or spinal fusion, which consists of
removing the disc entirely and joining the vertebrae with metal hardware.
As with sprains and strains, the prognosis for workers who suffer herniated
discs varies with some returning to work in a few weeks, others needing
significantly longer recovery times and still others unable to return to
employment in any capacity.
If a herniated disc
protrudes far enough
to pinch a nerve, something
known as radicular pain
can result, meaning pain
in other parts of
the body.
© 2015 by Eley Law Firm. All rights reserved. Design and editorial services by FindLaw, part of Thomson Reuters. 8
(CONTINUED)
While it’s certainly true that workers in more labor-intensive industries
see higher rates of back-related musculoskeletal injuries, it’s important to
understand that they can and do occur across a host of other industries.
Consider these very telling figures from the BLS outlining
the incidence rates of certain musculoskeletal injuries —
including sprains, strains, tears, herniated discs and
pinched nerves — within several major
private sector industries in 2013.12
© 2015 by Eley Law Firm. All rights reserved. Design and editorial services by FindLaw, part of Thomson Reuters. 9
THE RATES OF BACK INJURIES ON THE JOB
50.2HEALTH CARE AND
SOCIAL ASSISTANCEWORKERS PER 10, 000
80.3TRANSPORTATION
AND WAREHOUSING WORKERS PER 10, 000
41.9CONSTRUCTION
WORKERS PER10,00041.8
RETAIL TRADEWORKERS PER
10,00036.1MANUFACTURING
WORKERS PER10,000
13.3PROFESSIONAL AND BUSINESS
SERVICESWORKERS PER
10,000
INCIDENT RATES BY INDUSTRY
Visit our website: www.eleylawfirm.com
Call our firm: 866-371-3322
Share the white paper:
While a back-related musculoskeletal injury can incapacitate workers either temporarily or permanently,
workers’ compensation benefits can provide those in these unenviable positions with much-needed peace
of mind.
The bad news, of course, is that employers or insurance companies will often try to deny workers’
compensation claims stemming from back-related musculoskeletal injuries, perhaps arguing that it’s
unrelated to the underlying workplace accident or is not as serious as the injured worker is claiming.
Fortunately, the workers’ compensation system in Colorado is structured in such a way that an injured
worker can refute these types of claims regarding the severity of his or her injury, his or her ability to
work or his or her injury being nothing more than a temporary aggravation of a pre-existing condition.
Specifically, he or she is afforded the opportunity to present facts and other medical evidence in a hearing
held before an administrative law judge.
1 Mark Harden, Colorado Gains 5,500 Private-Sector Jobs in December, Denver Business
Journal, Jan. 14, 2015, http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2015/01/14/colorado-
gains-5-500-private-sector-jobs-in.html.2 Id.3 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: Industry data, at http://
data.bls.gov/timeseries/IIU00000000061100 4 Press Release, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Nonfatal Occupational Injuries and Illnesses
Requiring Days Away From Work, 2013, 1 (Dec. 16, 2014), http://www.bls.gov/news.release/
pdf/osh2.pdf.
5 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Nonfatal cases involving days away from work: selected
characteristics (2011 forward), at http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CSU00X32XXXX6P1006 Top 10 Causes of Workplace Injuries, Insurance Journal, Jan. 16, 2015, http://www.insur-
ancejournal.com/news/national/2015/01/16/354285.htm.7 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, supra note 4, at 13.8 Top 10 Causes of Workplace Injuries, supra note 6.9 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, supra note 4, at 13.10 Top 10 Causes of Workplace Injuries, supra note 6.11 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, supra note 4, at 13.12 Id. at 7.
BACK INJURIES AND THE NEED FOR WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BENEFITS
SOURCES