Spinal cord injury and other back injuries - a problem for employers

The back is a complex but delicate structure of bones, ligaments, tendons, nerves, and large muscles, and it can be easily damaged through overexertion or repetitive movements. There are many ways in which it can be damaged that can cause pain and disability. Some of the causes of back pain include nerve damage, spinal cord injury, muscle strain, disc damage. A spinal cord injury is one of the most serious types of back injury, and commonly results in paralysis. A back injury can also cause leg pain, also known as sciatica, which occurs when a disc presses on a nerve root. How do spinal cord injuries and back injuries affect businesses? Although there are under 500 serious spinal cord injuries a year that occur at work, those that do happen often have long lasting consequences, resulting in years off work and possible retirement for the worker involved. Compensation is often sought following a spinal cord injury caused by an accident at work, with serious financial consequences for the employer. Research suggests that 500,000 people a year suffer a back injury at work, resulting in an estimated 4.9 million days off sick a year, an average of 19 days per worker. BackCare, a back injury charity, puts the cost of back pain to businesses in the UK at