'MSK injuries account for the second leading cause of short- and long-term disability, behind mental health,' says expert
Employers who are looking to ensure that their workers’ mental health is at an optimal level may want to consider providing chiropractic care as a benefit for workers.
This is because “musculoskeletal conditions and mental health are closely linked,” says Dr. Dwight Chapin, chiropractor at High Point Wellness Centre in Mississauga, in talking with Canadian HR Reporter.
“One often will influence the other, and quite profoundly so,” he says.
“In workplace cultures, MSK injuries account for the second leading cause of short- and long-term disability, behind mental health.”
When a patient comes to see a chiropractor complaining of an MSK condition, “there is often an association with depression, low mood or anxiety,” he says.
“Patients that are in chronic pain… There's a social isolation that comes with that. There is an interruption in their sleep quality, and a reduction in their physical activity, which have a profound effect on their overall health and well-being.”
Chiropractors can recognize underlying mental health concerns related to MSK and play a role in referring patients at their clinics and onsite at workplaces to others to get mental health support, Chapin says.
Chiropractors are “musculoskeletal experts,” one expert previously told CHRR. “They are experts in the area of diagnoses, assessment and treatment of conditions that affect the muscles, bones, and then the spine and the related nervous system.”
How popular is chiropractic care?
Catherine Melville, VP for communications and government relations at the Ontario Chiropractic Association, notes that chiropractors are the second most relied upon for MSK issues, next to family doctors.
And close to seven million Canadians now are without a family doctor, says Chapin.
Two things happen when chiropractors provide their services to workers, he says.
“First of all, we can improve access to care. And through that access, we can begin to influence decisions [and] lifestyle.”
That helps reduce the risk chronic diseases, and helps workers improve their ability to move well, have more energy and be more resilient to stress, he says.
“We're seeing a larger percentage of the population seek out chiropractors for more wellness-based advice, people looking for chiropractors to help advise them on how to craft a self-care formula and how to age well.”
But that will also lead to referrals to “a more multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to support their overall wellbeing,” says Chapin.
“It's a much more proactive approach to health.”
Almost three-quarters of Ontarians pay for their chiropractic care privately through extended health care (EHC) insurance plans, according to a previous report.
How to provide chiropractic care
Practices and clinics like Chapin’s provide chiropractic care in different workplaces by putting practitioners in place, and that helps manage MSK risk and the associated costs, he says.
“By having the chiropractor on site in the business, it's like an extension of our practice. So we will use a boardroom or a meeting room and designate that space as a clinic for the day, or in some cases, once a week, there'll be a clinical presence there. Employees requiring care have immediate on-site access to health care services and can bill for the services provided to their extended health program. So there's no additional corporate cost for the delivery of care on site.”
Also, the company can work directly with the chiropractor, so that there's consistent messaging around return to work strategies and around workplace ergonomic policies and health promotion initiatives, among others, he says.
Comorbidities are fairly common in worker’s compensation cases involving lower back pain, and can have a significant impact on workers’ recovery, according to a report from the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI).
