The True Cost of Pain!
One estimate for the cost of Pain is $61.2 billion per year. That figure comes from a recent article by Walter "Buzz" Stewart, PhD, MPH, in the Journal of the American Medical Association. However, that figure is still only part of the picture. That staggering sum is only the money drained from US businesses because of productivity lost from employees dealing with pain. Stewart's study also only included arthritis, back pain, headache, and other musculoskeletal pain, yet the numbers were well over one hundred (100) billion in lost productivity due to pain.
Today, more than eighty-one percent (81%) of the businesses in the United States with fifty (50) or more employees have some sort of health promotion program. However, most programs consist of only the most basic wellness coordination. The LVPRC Wellness Program starts where all other programs stop, and we guarantee our results!
Pain, a Very Costly Eepidemic:Research! America released the results of a survey in 2003.
The survey showed:
- 57% of all adults have had chronic or recurrent pain in the last year.
- 75% of people currently in pain had to make adjustments to their lifestyle
- 33% of people had to make major adjustments to their lifestyle
So, who are the pain sufferers? It might be expected that pain tends to worsen with age. As you get older and have more wear and tear, you're more likely to have pain. Right? No, not really. The Research!America survey found that people under thirty-five (35) are just about as likely to have chronic pain as people over thirty-five (35).
Pain and Emotions:"People in pain are at risk of going into a downward spiral," says Stewart. "The pain can make them depressed, and the depression can exacerbate their perception of pain. That leads to even more disability. It can become a serious condition, and it needs the most aggressive treatment we have."
Depression appears to have a strong link with pain. In one recent study of 573 people with depression, two-thirds (2/3) reported that they were in physical pain. Many had headaches, back pain, and joint pain. The study indicated that the severity of pain might even be an indicator for the severity of depression.
In terms of lost hours due to absenteeism, reduced productivity and Worker's Compensation benefits, stress costs American industry approximately $7500 per employee per year. "Stress Solution," Miller & Smith, Journal of American Psychological Association, 1997
It is estimated that executives alone cost American Industry 10 billion dollars annually due to stress and stress related complaints. The National Association of Disability Examiners
Eighty percent (80%) of people feel stress on the job. Forty percent (40%) say they need help in managing it. Gallup Poll, 2000
Employees' stress reduces production by thirty to fifty percent (30-50%). HR Magazine.
Approximately forty-three percent (43%) of adults suffer from adverse health effects due to stress or stress related complaints. Stress also causes approximately 1 million employees to be absent on any given work day. Ultimately, stress is responsible for fifty percent (50%) of employee burnout and fforty percent (40%) of turnover. Training and Development Magazine, August 2000
Most companies are getting the output of about fifty to seventy (50-70) workers out of every one hundred (100) they employ. The difference is due to high levels of stress and fatigue. HR MagazinePain on the Job:
According to Stewart's 2003 study, over half of the almost 29,000 workers in the random sample said that they had headache, back pain, arthritis, or other musculoskeletal pain in the last two weeks. Traditionally, employers have focused on pain's most concrete manifestation -- sick days. If an employee doesn't show up to work, it's easy to notice. But Stewart says that absenteeism is not the biggest problem for employers. According to his study, absenteeism makes up less then twenty-five percent (25%) of productivity. The rest, almost seventy-five percent (75 %), comes from people who show up to work, but who can't work efficiently because of their pain or condition. Sullivan concludes that a more aggressive approach to pain treatment will help employees and employers alike.Worker's Compensation Solutions, Treating Pain, and Employers' Solutions:
A major concern for employers today is employee injury. When an employee is injured on the job, beyond the wellbeing of the employee, there are two important financial considerations. The first has to do with OSHA and its recordkeeping regulations for employee injuries; the second is Worker's Compensation for the injury and lost work time. OSHA recordable injuries as well as Worker's Compensation claims can be very detrimental to the bottom-line of any business operation.
In 2002 OSHA altered its recordkeeping rule so that injuries requiring only first aid would no longer be recordable injuries. Currently, tthe only reportable injuries are those that result in loss of consciousness, or require medical treatment, time off of work, restriction of work, lost time, or transfer to another job. When an employee is treated under an employer's first aid program, rarely is it necessary for the employee to file a Worker's Compensation Claim. OSHA's guidelines concerning first aid are very specific; however, they do go beyond what would commonly be considered first aid treatment. Many employers provide first aid programs out-of-pocket to avoid the escalating costs of OSHA recordable injuries and Worker's Compensation.
LVPRC's First Aid Utilizes ART®:
A powerful treatment option that is available under the OSHA first aid regulations is Active Release Technique® (ART®). Because of the nature of ART® treatments, OSHA has designated it a 'best management' practice. ART® first aid treatments usually take less than fifteen (15) minutes, and the employee is usually able to return to their work immediately with no limitations.
Las Vegas Pain Relief Center has both onsite and offsite options for ART® first aid. 
Worker's Compensation Costs:
The average price of a worker's compensation for an average injury can cost upwards of $19,000. In a recent study, it was reported that Worker's Compensation pays more to treat comparable injuries than group health insurance plans (considering just the cost of the medical expenses). Indirect costs such as loss of productivity and quality, time off of work, and the costs of hiring and training replacement workers, as well as retraining permanently partially disabled workers for other jobs, usually exceed the direct costs by as much as five times. Many of these costs can be averted or mitigated successfully with ART® treatments.
* National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), Boca Raton, Fla.Repetitive Strain Injuries vs. LVPRC (ART®) Employee Productivity Upgrade:
Research demonstrates that:
Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) caused by cumulative trauma are now the major cause of injuries in the workforce. Statistics show that the number of patients suffering from cumulative trauma has now surpassed those suffering from back pain. RSI cases have increased at a phenomenal rate of 670 % over the last five years.
ART® treats RSI at a rate of over ninety percent (90%) success. However, most employees that finally report Repetitive Strain Injuries have been experiencing telltale symptoms for quite a long time. Most employees wait until either the pain or the disability is so advanced that it can not be ignored any longer. In all jobs it is possible to predict where and how Repetitive Strain Injuries will occur. Through Las Vegas Pain Relief Center's premier Employee Wellness Program, ART® Employee Productivity Upgrade, employees and their job duties will be assessed for potential and occurring Repetitive Strain Injuries. By addressing RSI's early in the progression, a great many Worker's Compensation claims, as well as lost productivity, are averted which results in a healthier employee base as well as a healthier bottom-line.
Employee Productivity Upgrade Evaluation:
Using LVPRC (ART®) Solutions to Strengthen Your Bottom-Line:
For many companies, their largest asset is their employee base. Just like any investment it is important to take care of the profit producing assets. The story is told of the golden goose that laid golden eggs but was killed to obtain the golden eggs faster. In the competitive business world today you need an edge to care for your assets while still moving toward higher productivity and cleaner streamlined efficiency. Due to the human condition, each individual in your employee base is experiencing the productivity robbing effects of scar tissue. Whether this is due to chronic pain (headaches, back aches, painful muscles, etc.) or to lost Range of Motion that slowly occurs over time, ART® Solutions will provide your employees with the cutting edge medical technology to remove the scar tissue and to increase power, strength, and ability in all of their job responsibilities.
Worker's Compensation Chart from Sanmina-SCI:
The Cost of Pain, R. Morgan Griffin; WebMD Feature, Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson.
SOURCES: Walter "Buzz" Stewart, PhD, MPH, director of the Outcomes Research Institute for The Center for Health Research & Rural Advocacy at Geisinger Health System, Danville, Pa. Sean Sullivan, president and CEO of the Institute for Health & Productivity Management, Scottsdale, Ariz. Lipton, RB. Headache, 2001; vol. 41: pp 638-645. Lipton, R.B. Cephalgia, July 23, 2003; vol. 23: pp 429-40. Stewart, W.F. JAMA, Nov. 12, 2003; vol 290: pp 2443-2454. Bair, M. Psychosomatic Medicine, August 2004; vol. 66: pp 17-22. American Chronic Pain Association web site. American Pain Foundation web site.
