Musculoskeletal Disorders Cause Absence

A recent study, Fit for Work Europe, shows that people who live in the EU are having to take a lot of time off work due to musculoskeletal disorders (MSD's). 49% of all absences and 60% of permanent work incapacity were accounted for by musculoskeletal disorders. Health insurance companies have been aware of working hours lost through these issues for quite some time.

Companies who provide their staff with health insurance are keenly aware that the sooner a problem is sorted out the quicker their staff members can return to work, not just healthy but also with more peace of mind.

The authors of the report say that the high levels of work absence is making Europe less competitive than America or China. They recommend that all bodies work together in order to reduce time lost at work but appreciate that this does not tend to happen:

'In many of the countries we studied - awareness, resources and political will are not yet at a stage where coordinated and effective early intervention is currently deliverable.

'The consequences of this lack of readiness may be far-reaching for workers with MSDs who want or need to retain contact with the labour market. Successful early interventions require clinicians, employers and the health care and social welfare systems to work together. This is rarely the case, even to achieve positive clinical outcomes. It is even less common to find that job retention or return to work is the goal.'

In the UK, earlier this year Aviva, a private medical health insurance company, launched a new product for its business clients: Back-Up. This product aims at dealing with back and neck complaints quickly in order to reduce time taken off by staff. It has been so successful that the product is now also open to individual private customers as well.

Back-Up customers are encouraged to call the Back-Up service where they will speak to a case manager who takes a full history of your problem and offers 'practical and clinical advice and support.' They can also work with the persons line manager to advise on how the person can be helped to proceed at work.

It is estimated that in the UK 9.5 million working days were lost in 2005-2006 due to musculoskeletal disorders. This presents a problem for the UK economy. Very often the NHS can do nothing for you. The problem is too widespread and they do not have enough resources. Private health insurance on the other hand can help to support a person much speedily and tailor-made schemes such as the Aviva one are even more useful as back conditions can often be chronic and are therefore sometimes not covered under normal medical insurance.