Musculoskeletal injury: A three-stage continuum from cause to disability to decision

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) (2000) defines a musculoskeletal disorder as an injury or disorder of the muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, cartilage, and spinal discs. A report by the DOL in 2000 revealed 593,000 musculoskeletal disorders were reported in the U.S. in 1998, with an average of five work days lost per injury claim (U.S. Department of Labor, 2000). Andersson, Pope and Frymoyer (1984) found a lifetime incidence of spinal disorders ranging from 51.4% to 70%. A report by the National Research Council (National Research Council, 2001) revealed that approximately 1 million American workers took time of work due to the occurrence of at least one musculoskeletal disorder in 1999, resulting in over $50 billion worth of lost time from work. The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was predicted to increase to 18.4% in 2002 (Linton, 2002).