$980.1 billion per year. That is the latest estimated annual cost to society of musculoskeletal (MS) disease. The figure represents 5.76 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product — up from 3.44 percent of the GDP two decades ago.

The shoulder injury is now America’s #1 injury in terms of frequency and cost per claim. That comment, by the director of Workers’ Compensation, Corporate Insurance & Risk Management for American Airlines, comes despite the fact that many of these injuries are easily preventable. It should serve as a wakeup call for employers to do everything they can to prevent and lessen the impact of these injuries.

Watching the Winter Olympics can be a great inspiration to get into an exercise regimen, especially if you’ve been fairly sedentary since the holidays started. But before you head to the ice to try a triple axel or a quad lutz it’s important to make sure your body is ready; otherwise, you may find yourself sore at the very least, and possibly with severe injuries.

The end of one year and start of another is a great time to assess the work we do and see how we can improve things going forward. One of my professional New Year’s resolutions is to look for ways to better serve the people we work with, especially injured workers and their employers.   

There’s a new health problem impacting workers of all ages. It’s call ‘Sitting Disease.’ It’s actually just a catchy term referring to the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle. But it perfectly describes the cause of many aches and pains — and workers’ compensation claims.

One of the biggest reasons workers go out on comp is due to low back pain (LBP). For many people it is a recurring problem. A new study even shows that having an episode of LBP is the main risk factor for having recurring episodes.

As many Americans recover from the devastation from the two recent hurricanes, it’s important to ensure workers stay safe and healthy. Many people are engaged in cleanup and rebuilding efforts both at home and at work, and are likely engaged in tasks that are not part of their normal daily routines. This can cause a variety of musculoskeletal injuries, as they use muscles they normally don’t and may find themselves in awkward physical positions.

A new return-to-work study glaringly illustrates some of the problems with getting quick, appropriate medical care to injured workers. It also shows a substantial percentage of injured workers are not being shown how to do their jobs safely to prevent reinjury.