Prevent Employee Injury From the Effects of Aging

1Workers’ Compensation Services | Loss Prevention Services | 800.782.8169 | www.wc.coverys.com

Prevent Employee Injury From the Effects of Aging

September 18, 2013

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Prevent Employee Injury From the

Effects of Aging

This webinar begins at 11 a.m., Eastern.

You will not hear anything over your telephone line until the

program starts.

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number and receive a call back, call the following number

and enter the session number.

Phone number for presentation access: (408) 792-6300

Session number: 684 798 529

Session password: WebEdu091813

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Our Presenter

Michael Cortese

MS, PT, ATC, OCSSupervisor, Rehabilitation Department

Bethesda Health, Boynton Beach, FL

MCortese@BHinc.org

Arthritis

Articular cartilage

Location

Function

Pain sensation

Characteristics of Articular

Cartilage

Blood Flow

Nutrition

Movement

What Damages It?

Long duration compression

Excessive abnormal joint motion

Injuries to ligaments

Excessive forces

Genetic or disease processes

Prevent Employee Injury From the Effects of Aging

2Workers’ Compensation Services | Loss Prevention Services | 800.782.8169 | www.wc.coverys.com

Meniscus

Fibrocartilage

Nutrition

Function

Tear Medial Cartilage/Meniscus

of KneeRankings by Number of Claims on Claims With Temporary Payments For Lost-

Time Claims Closed Within 24 Months of Date of Injury (Source: NCCI)

Age Related Mechanisms of Injury

Types of tears

Pain

Sociological factors

The “Rotator Cuff”

Function

Posture

Vascularity

Sprain Rotator CuffRankings by Number of Claims on Claims With Temporary Payments For Lost-

Time Claims Closed Within 24 Months of Date of Injury (Source: NCCI)

Rotator Cuff SyndromeRankings by Number of Claims on Claims With Temporary Payments For Lost-

Time Claims Closed Within 24 Months of Date of Injury (Source:NCCI)

Prevent Employee Injury From the Effects of Aging

3Workers’ Compensation Services | Loss Prevention Services | 800.782.8169 | www.wc.coverys.com

Rotator Cuff RuptureRankings by Number of Claims on Claims With Temporary Payments For Lost-

Time Claims Closed Within 24 Months of Date of Injury (Source: NCCI)

What Factors Effect

Rotator Cuff Health?

Multi-factoral (RL. Worland, 2003)

Asymptomatic subjects age >50 had 40% incidence

of full thickness rotator cuff tears

Smoking (Baumgarten & Gerlach, 2010

61.9% with tears have history of smoking

Lipids (Abboud & Kim, 2010)

47/74 individuals with tears (63%) compared to

control group (28%) had elevated cholesterol,

triglycerides, and LDL concentrations, with low HDL

Smoking

Obesity

Physical De-conditioning

Genetic / Family History

Non- Occupational Risk FactorsPromote Healthy Lifestyle

Strategies

Healthy Lifestyle Discounts Non-smoking work environments

http://www.hrmorning.com/ban-hiring-smokers/

Smoking cessation programshttp://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/06/05/every-smoker-costs-an-employer-

6000-a-year-really/

Employee sponsored activity programs

Gym Access or Wellness Programs

Organized Stretch Breaks

Dietary News Minutes/ Recipe sharing

Occupational Risk Factors

Ergonomic

Static Posturing

Heavy Lifts

Long Reaches

Slips and Falls

Static Posturing

Sitting Posture

Prevent Employee Injury From the Effects of Aging

4Workers’ Compensation Services | Loss Prevention Services | 800.782.8169 | www.wc.coverys.com

Static Posturing

Standing Postures

Photo: www.osha.gov

Heavy Lifts

Photos: www.ca.gov www.osha.gov

www.theonlinecatelog.com

Long Reaches

Photos: www.osha.gov

Resource:https://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/oshasoft/index.html

Slips and Falls

Choices for application

Injury and Illness Prevention

ProgramsSix Core Elements

Management leadership

Worker participation

Hazard identification and assessment

Hazard prevention and control

Education and training

Program evaluation and improvement

Source: www.osha.gov

BMW Institutional awareness and commitment

Voluntary participation of workers

70 improvements and suggestions from workers were implemented in line set up.

Frequent rotation out of labor intensive positions

Nearly half the cost of implementation was used for worker education.

Continued improvements resulted in increased productivity of 7%.

http://www.scdigest.com/ASSETS/ON_TARGET/10-03-17-3.php?cid=3294

http://blogs.hbr.org/hbr/hbreditors/2009/03/bmw_and_the_older_worker.html

Prevent Employee Injury From the Effects of Aging

5Workers’ Compensation Services | Loss Prevention Services | 800.782.8169 | www.wc.coverys.com

Best Practice

Age related injuries appear to begin before

age 50!

Improvements for older employees are

good for all employees.

Improvements to prevent injury and illness

positively impact productivity.

Promote healthy lifestyles.

Additional References

Workers Compensation and the Aging

Workforce, Dec. 2011

www.ncci.com

Designing for an Aging Population, 2011

www.asse.org/cops/docs/Winnie%20Ip%20Article_

Ergonomics.pdf

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For More Information

• The survey is available here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/0918Webinar

• Janice Homola, ARM, Sr. ConsultantLoss Prevention Services(248) 624-0966 jhomola@coverys.com

• Taped webinars are available in

the Members Only Section at:

www.coverysis.com