MSK Toolkit
MSK Toolkit
What leaders need to know
Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions such as back pain, headaches, arm or neck strain, and diseases of the muscle and joints are having a devastating impact on the Canadian workforce. A confluence of social, economic, and environmental trends points to the need for a workplace strategy to ensure the physical, as well as the mental, wellbeing of our workforce.
Prioritizing the MSK health needs of your workplace will benefit your organization and your bottom line.
“If an MSK condition worsens and becomes a long-term disability claim, the journey is very complex and can represent a significant cost to the employer. The data clearly shows the more you focus on prevention, the better the outcome on long-term disability.”
– Marie-Chantal Côté, Senior Vice-President, Group Benefits, Sun Life
Learn more by downloading our white paper:
Are MSK health issues holding back your business?
MSK conditions have direct and indirect costs to your bottom line.
58% of Canadians reported that they missed work or found it harder to do their job because of chronic pain.2
MSK is the second-leading driver in short-term and long-term disability claims Canada.3
The administrative cost and overtime costs to replace an ill or injured worker has been estimated to cost 5 to 25 times the direct cost.4
Creating a plan for healthy growth
Reducing workplace risks and having supportive procedures in place are critical when managing MSK health. Investing in the health of your workforce makes business sense by mitigating costs associated with:
- Working days lost, sick pay, and re-training;
- Lost productivity;
- Disability claims;
- Mental health conditions such as stress, anxiety and depression that often have a physical pain component;
- Reduced presenteeism (working even when feeling unwell); and
- Poor physical safety and unhealthy behavior.
We can help you decrease work related MSK injuries
Take action:
A targeted strategy will support organizational goals by lowering absence and disability costs while improving the overall health, wellbeing, and productivity of your employees. Ideally, elements would include:
Leadership buy-in: Championing MSK health should be led from the top. Clear direction from senior management ensures that the workplace is safe and proactively promotes healthy practices.
Grass roots support: Establish an MSK Health Committee that identifies opportunities, promotes best practices, sets goals, and measures outcomes.
Education and awareness building: Include MSK and physical health within your organization’s regular wellness outreach plans.
Work with healthcare MSK experts: Working with regulated healthcare professionals, like chiropractors, can help ensure you have the right solutions in place.
Review extended health group benefits: Work with employee groups, healthcare providers, and insurance underwriters to review utilization data, and ensure policies reflect best practice and recommended levels of coverage.
Embracing MSK health
A successful organization relies on a healthy workforce. Fostering a wellness-oriented culture enables an employee to take ownership of their MSK health, receive early treatment and support, and continue to work. Treating and preventing MSK conditions also has financial and productivity benefits for employers.
As experts in MSK conditions, chiropractors provide professional advice to manage and treat injured workers and expedite a successful return to work if absence is necessary. Chiropractic treatment can also aid in the prevention of MSK conditions and is generally part of the paramedical benefits you already provide.
This toolkit will give you the materials you need to develop and implement a successful MSK strategy.
- Benefits Canada, Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey 2023
- Sanofi Canada, Future Forward: Frontline Perspective on the Future of Health Benefit Plans, Sanofi Canada, June 2020.
- Craig Sebastiano, “Employee Absences Costly for Employers,” Benefits Canada, March 13, 2007
- Tim Windsor, “Assessing the Economic Impact of Proactive Injury/Illness & Health Management,” IAPA Conference.
Additional pages in this toolkit