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Informative Article | Health and Medical Sciences | India | Volume 10 Issue 10, October 2021 | Rating: 3 / 10
Early Work Conditioning Work Hardening (WCWH) to Successfully Return Workers Compensation Patients to Work
Vidit Atul Phanse, Madhushree Donde
Abstract: We live in a world where there is a rapid increase in occupational disability and musculoskeletal disorders within the workers' population. These can cause great distress both physically and emotionally to workers with injuries and can be a financial burden to society, especially in industrialized countries. Research by Waters et al. (1993) suggests that occupational musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) are caused due to the excessive demands placed on workers that exceed their physical capacity. That?s why insurers and healthcare workers agree that a worker with a work injury causing back pain, for instance, should be treated with a timely return-to-work goal. The workers' compensation patient population, however, tends to undergo lengthy wait times to see doctors, physical therapists, and other specialists due to the long insurance approval times and poor management of the system. This is why it is of prime importance that this population gets timely care and there is a proper return-to-work (RTW) program that aligns with the goal of getting them back to work as soon as possible. This can not only help manage overall claims costs by speeding safe return-to-work opportunities either in the form of light duties or full duty but can also provide proper education for workers by keeping the workers accountable for their own care. Work conditioning, work hardening (WCWH) is one such underutilized RTW program. This program not only assists in safely and effectively returning workers back to work but also reduces overall claims cost and healthcare costs.
Keywords: occupational disability, musculoskeletal disorders, returntowork program, work injuries, work conditioning
Edition: Volume 10 Issue 10, October 2021
Pages: 1637 - 1639