Because chiropractic physicians are experts in treating conditions that involve the musculoskeletal and nervous systems (including many common workplace injuries), we have a unique perspective on why they happen, how they can be prevented and the best ways to treat them.
Musculoskeletal Disorders by the Numbers
Let’s start with a long-term trend that’s good news for the nation’s workers but that doesn’t get much media attention. The number of reportable occupational injuries and illnesses has declined steadily across the past decade from 50 cases per 1,000 full-time workers in 2003 to 33 cases in 2013. So progress is clearly being made, even if it doesn’t grab the headlines.
That said, musculoskeletal injuries continue to be among the most common on-the-job injuries, and they can require significant recuperation time. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says that musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) “are injuries or illnesses affecting the connective tissues of the body such as muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage, or spinal disks.”
A very high percentage—about one-third—of 2013 workplace injury and illness cases that required days off from work involved the musculoskeletal system. Plus, workers who sustained musculoskeletal injuries required more time to recover before returning to work—a median of 11 days to recuperate compared with 8 days for all types of workplace injury and illness cases. In 2011:
As we mentioned earlier, though, MSDs are not distributed evenly across all industries and occupations.
So it’s clear from the numbers that the dangerous jobs featured on reality TV shows (think about Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Truckers) aren’t necessarily the ones that result in the most MSD-related visits to the chiropractor or general practitioner.
The Role of Chiropractic Care in Prevention and Treatment
Over the past several years, companies of all sizes have become increasingly interested in occupational health and wellness programs. Chiropractic physicians have a special interest in working with employees and business managers alike to help prevent job-related injuries and to encourage a healthy, productive work environment. If you’d like to learn more, we encourage you to call or visit our office today.
Chiropractic care can be one of the most effective ways to treat musculoskeletal pain and accelerate recovery. Dr. Oblander has the training and experience necessary to successfully diagnose and treat a wide range of workplace injuries, and he’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have! So if you or someone you care about has recently been hurt on the job, please give us a call at 406-652-3553 or stop by either of our Billings chiropractic offices. We have an office located at 3307 Grand Avenue and an office at 410 Wicks Lane in the Heights and we’re here to help!
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The following article was written by Barbara Parshley, MH :
My favorite herb changes quite frequently. Today it happens to be cayenne. In the Family Herbalist course, a course I highly recommend to all, we learned how it would stop a bloody nose almost immediately. Given my grandchildren are around frequently, I had the opportunity to try this remedy. My granddaughter had a bloody nose for about 10 minutes before she came to share that information with me. I was new to the Family Herbalist course at the time, so I thought I would try putting a little cayenne into water. She drank the water and the nose that had been profusely bleeding, stopped before the glass of cayenne water was finished.
Today, about two years after this first experiment with cayenne, I was using a rotary cutter to cut the many yards of material I use for quilting. I have done this for years, but today, for the first time, the rotary cutter came close to taking off much of my left index finger. Oh, did it bleed! I immediately ran it under water allowing it to bleed freely to clean the cut. Then it occurred to me – “I have cayenne in my Herbal First Aid Kit!” I wrapped the finger in paper towels in order to go get the kit. The towels were soaked in blood before I made it from the kitchen to the bathroom, one door away. This concerned my granddaughter and she suggested going to a hospital. I thought, “No, I need to get to the cayenne.”
And so I did. I opened up the container of powdered cayenne, wondering if it was going to sting horrendously. (I had previously used too much in a nasal wash, and though it took care of the sinus infection rather quickly, I remembered to dilute it more the following time I used it.) I sprinkled the cayenne onto the finger and it didn’t sting! Sprinkling cayenne on to this open wound, felt just fine! Of course the bleeding stopped quite quickly. I was thrilled with my new experiment. Then I decided that as long as I had the opportunity, I would proceed with my second experiment. I retrieved some of my powdered BF&C (with the comfrey), added cayenne to it for good measure, and moistened it with X-ceptic. Since the gash was large enough, I put the poultice on only half of the gash on the finger and bandaged the whole finger.
It was amazing! Two days later, the section of the finger where I put the poultice has healed, there isn’t even any bruising! The other section is healing, but is still a separated wound. The BF&C certainly added to the healing of the gash and is now a favorite herbal combination. However, the amazing properties of cayenne that stopped this rather excessive bleeding so quickly and without stinging, made cayenne my favorite herb for the day.
Barbara Parshley lives in Aurora, Colorado, and received her MH in June of 2011 from the School of Natural Healing. She periodically teaches classes in Herbology in Aurora Colorado.
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