We’re all familiar with what a physiotherapist does – chances are, you’ve visited them at least once in your life for your acute back pain, that shoulder injury that keeps niggling away or that rolled ankle that you sustained in your Thursday night basketball game.
For many people, it’s easy to put off booking in the appointment, work is just too busy and you can’t get away at lunch, the kids have sport after school that they need to be taken to, the list goes on.
So, when you finally find time to organise an appointment, first, you must book an appointment at a time that’s convenient for you as well as the clinic, then you have to take time off work to drive there and sit in the waiting room (which could take as long as 60 minutes.) Finally, you’ll get treated. But by now, your injury may have developed into something more serious.
The same goes if you are injured at work and need treatment offsite. By the time an appointment is booked and you drive to the nearest clinic to attend the appointment, the likelihood of being away from work for less than two hours is pretty low.
Musculoskeletal injuries are the type of injuries that do not discriminate, they affect anyone and everyone and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, $4.7 billion[1] is spent each year on managing and treating musculoskeletal conditions with a large portion of these injuries being work related or affecting an individual’s ability to perform the inherent requirements of their role.
In a previous blog, we mentioned the staggering costs associated with workplace injuries and illness, and while these injuries significantly cost the Australian economy, it’s the social and physical aspects that can have the most detrimental effect on the injured individual, their family, and their employer.
In a recent study by SafeWork Australia, it was noted that the median compensation paid out for a work-related injury was $10,800 per claim, with an average of 5.2 weeks of time lost. While men had a higher serious claim frequency rate than females (6.1% to 4.9% respectively), a whopping 43% of incidents were related to traumatic joint/ligament and muscle/tendon injury.[2]
So, what’s the solution??
Early Intervention. We all know that the best way to recover from an injury or prevent a niggle from turning into something more serious is to receive treatment and advice from a trained health professional such as a physiotherapist. And while it’s easy to prolong booking the appointment, its essential that you make it a priority.
Reducing the barriers to treatment
As discussed earlier, there are a number of barriers that prevent individuals from receiving treatment; the cost, the time taken to attend the appointment, the need to lodge a WorkCover claim, the need to follow up appointments, the list goes on.
An onsite physiotherapy program is a great way to mitigate these issues and reduce the barriers that prevent people from having treatment. Having an onsite physiotherapist ensures that treatment for both work related and non-work related injuries can easily be accessed to prevent niggles from becoming serious injuries. An onsite physiotherapist can provide timely and effective treatment for injuries that occur onsite, implement a strategic approach towards preventing work-related injuries before they happen, and effectively manage the return to work process for an injured employee.
Other benefits of having a physio onsite include:
- Minimised workers compensation claims and premium costs
- Early intervention and triage of workplace injuries (within 48 hours of the injury occurring)
- Immediate assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of injury
- Faster recovery times
- Elimination of time lost due to employees getting treated off site
- Rehabilitation after an injury occurs under the watchful eye of a trained healthcare professional
- Confidence in knowing that you or your employees are in good hands for an optimal recovery
- Increased employee morale
The gamechanger: why you need an onsite physiotherapist
An onsite physiotherapist isn’t just about treating injuries: they can also assist with return to work, injury management and injury prevention, along with on-the-spot advice around correct ergonomic set up and manual handling, prescription of exercise and delivery of educational and awareness programs.
An onsite physiotherapist can also assist an organisation in creating open lines of communication between management and the frontline. For example, the physio is able to identify risks and upskill management around what’s happening on the front line, as well as keep them informed on the progress of the employee’s injury. In addition, the physio can also act as an employee advocate to communicate and voice the opinions of the workforce to management. Onsite physiotherapy programs are also a great way to certain a positive culture about safety, which can be directly linked to employee morale.
Do you have an onsite physio? Bodycare offers proactive onsite physiotherapy services throughout Australia and New Zealand, with the goal of effectively reducing the cost of injuries in your workplace. We can work with you to establish and implement programs that are tailored to your individual needs. Contact us today for more information about our onsite injury prevention and management services or any of our health and wellness programs.
[1]http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/0/9E7B7AFA9DF69E20CA2571F60017A972?OpenDocument
[2] https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/book/key-work-health-and-safety-statistics-australia-2017