Your Health

What Workers Can Learn From Athletes

Posted 7/22/2010

What Workers Can Learn From Athletes

(NAPSI)-To get injured workers back into the workforce and prevent future accidents and injuries, some occupational medicine clinics are taking their cue from the techniques used to rehabilitate injured athletes.

Studies have shown that workers who engage in physical activities as part of their job may experience the same types of injuries as professional athletes. In fact, sprains and strains are the leading cause of injury in the workplace. The solution? As well as providing prompt treatment, it's important to assess what caused the damage and suggest specialized techniques to reduce further injury.

"When injuries do occur, our work site athletic health specialists [WAHS] use sports medicine techniques to provide early treatment and speed healing," said Mike McCollum, president of Concentra Health Solutions.

Concentra operates over 300 urgent care sites in 40 states and works with employers of all sizes across the U.S. to process claims, provide workforce-related care and get workers healthy quickly using WAHS within their organization. WAHS are experienced health professionals, such as certified athletic trainers and physical therapists, who provide ergonomic assessment of tasks, coordinate injury care services, arrange specialist referrals and conduct safety audits.

With this type of program, companies benefit from an experienced health care professional able to identify the root cause of employee injuries, reduce reinjury, and increase employee safety adherence.

This proactive approach to employee health has already paid off in fewer workers' compensation claims, saving employer costs, and helps to create safer workplaces, fewer injuries and more companies with longer strings of consecutive days without work injuries.

Within the first year of using WAHS, one company prevented 289 urgent care visits, saving over $900,000. The return on investment, according to the National Athletic Trainers' Association, is 83 percent, with a return of $3 per employee/dollar invested.

For more information about Concentra's employer-focused health care solutions, visit www.concentra.com.

WAHS provide rehabilitation guidance to reduce further injury.