Chiropractors part of the solution to growing musculoskeletal-skeletal disability

Chiropractors part of the solution to growing musculoskeletal-skeletal disability according to Dr Hayden Thomas, chiropractor and spokesman for the New Zealand Association of Chiropractors. He was commenting following the news that one in four people suffer from musculoskeletal disorders, such as arthritis, which cost the country more than $5.5 billion each year, according to a new report.

And the number of people living with at least one type of arthritis is expected to climb, tightening the squeeze on our already strained health and welfare systems.

By 2020, more than 650,000 Kiwis aged over 15 will have arthritis, compared with 530,000 now.

The report, entitled: Fit For Work? Musculoskeletal Disorders and the New Zealand Labour Market, calls for a focus on early detection and intervention to ensure people with these disabling conditions keep working.

GPs should also focus on thinking beyond the physical symptoms.

Employers and employees should look not at incapacity, but at the capacity of what sufferers can do in the workplace, the report says.

Developing a national plan was needed to co-ordinate action from the government, medical professionals and employers to help sufferers get back into work.

Musculoskeletal disorders include the 140 types of arthritis, back, neck and joint pain and work-related conditions such as repetitive strain injury.

They affect sufferers' stamina, ability to concentrate, mood, mobility and agility. Depression or anxiety are also likely.

They are the leading cause of disability in New Zealand and are the second largest category of conditions resulting in sickness and invalid benefit payments, the report says.