ARE YOU AT RISK FOR A DISABILITY?

One of the things that stumps employers, practitioners and insurance companies, is why one person will get carpal tunnel syndrome while the person next to them, doing the exact same job, does not. Or that one patient will undergo carpal tunnel release surgery and return to work after several weeks, when another patient is never able to return to work at all.  Yet, researchers know that there are psychosocial risk factors that correlate to some of these outcomes. #JohnsHopkins School of Public Health has gathered the scientific data regarding these risk factors into a presentation on how they impact disability outcomes.

Psychosocial means things like smoking, obesity, depression and lifestyle choices. When I was in the workers’ compensation system, psychosocial gave insurance companies reason to deny causation of your claim. But now these factors have been scientifically connected to so many biological processes that researchers call them biopsychosocial risk factors.

This is important for you because if you work for a large corporation, chances are your employer has been warned to be on the look out for them in employees. Being aware of them allows you to determine, in advance, whether you have any, and what you can do to change them. After all becoming disabled will impact you far more than anyone other stakeholder in your life. Learning how to identify biopsychosocial risk factors in your company, it processes and environment that might mean an increased risk to you, your co-workers and employers is equally important.

Some common biopsychosocial risks include feeling mistreated, catastrophizing, always and never statements, anxiety statements, depression statements, beliefs about recovery, and a sedentary lifestyle. Some of these you can change. Others require changes on the part of your employer. There are disability risk screening tools available on the Internet for free. They are questionnaires regarding activities, pain catastrophizing and perceived injustice. You might want to begin by taking the questionnaires yourself. When it comes to sharing them with your employer, proceed with caution. Small businesses are particularly susceptible, as they often don’t have the resources to be aware of, let alone implement, the latest research on employee wellness. On the other hand, one of the best features of a small business is the close-knit communities they form; just the kind of environment that facilitates employee wellness in the first place.

@JillGambaro is the author of The Truth About Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Through her book, Facebook page, this blog and her LinkedIn blog, she advocates for patient engagement and employee engagement to resolve repetitive strain injuries and keep everyone working healthy.