B is for Back Pain: The Impact of Musculoskeletal Issues on Teachers

Teaching is one of the most honorable professions in society. Educating our children to become productive members is one of the keys to our society’s success. But this tremendous effort takes a toll. To do their jobs, teachers face a startingly high risk of developing both physical and mental health conditions. And, many times, these two tolls compound each other.

Understanding the problem

Muscle and joint conditions are of primary concern for this population. A review of musculoskeletal disorders pegged the prevalence of these conditions in teachers between 39% and 95% (Erick 2011). More recent reports from around the world place the prevalence around 80%, meaning 4 out of 5 teachers have some sort of musculoskeletal problem (Solis-Soto 2017, Ng 2019). The most common areas affected are the neck, shoulder, lower back, and wrist/hands. Physical education teachers are also greatly affected, but more commonly in the knees and back (Goossens 2016).

Risk factors for teachers

The connection between the classroom and the development of these issues is clear. Prolonged standing and/or sitting, repeated kneeling and stooping, awkward posture, and high workload are all known contributors to the muscle and joint conditions teachers experience. Other risk factors include female gender, age, smoking, and obesity (Abdulmonem 2014).

Poor mental health increases not only the likelihood of developing musculoskeletal pain but also worse outcomes, as it affects how someone perceives or responds to pain.

Mental health also plays a principal role. Poor mental health increases not only the likelihood of developing musculoskeletal pain but also worse outcomes, as it affects how someone perceives or responds to pain. Depression, anxiety, stress, little job/social support, and low job satisfaction are all identified risk factors that affect a teacher’s mental health and development of musculoskeletal conditions (Solis-Soto 2017).

The impact on students, districts, and teacher quality of life

Taken together, these factors do not paint a pretty picture for educators—nor the students or districts they support. Teachers are the backbone of our schools, and when they are absent, student achievement falls and public schools spend about 4 billion dollars annually for substitute teaching. Studies have attributed teacher’s absences to multiple factors including job stress and health issues (Miller, 2012).  

Further complicating the problem is the traditional healthcare system’s failure to effectively treat muscle and joint pain. Like others in pain, teachers are at risk for getting bounced around a complicated system, ending up with unnecessary procedures and surgeries, more lost days of work, and lower quality of life.

A solution to meet teachers’ needs

Vori Health understands the gravity of this problem. Our whole-person approach and convenient virtual platform are uniquely suited to support the health of our educators.

“At Vori Health, we embrace a biopsychosocial model of healthcare,” explains Mary O’Connor, MD, Vori Health Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer. “Specialty physicians lead our Care Teams to provide medical expertise in diagnosing and treating muscle and joint pain. Our Care Teams also include a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, physical therapist, registered dietitian nutritionist, and health coach so we can meet the holistic needs of our patients.”

“We recognize the psychological and social impact of an individual’s life on their health, and our nationally-certified health coaches are experts in supporting patients on their journey to better health,” says Dr. O’Connor.

While our clinicians and therapists manage an individual’s medical and physical needs, our health coaches support critical lifestyle factors that impact muscle and joint pain like adequate sleep, weight loss, smoking cessation, and stress management.

“We recognize the psychological and social impact of an individual’s life on their health, and our nationally-certified health coaches are experts in supporting patients on their journey to better health,” says Dr. O’Connor.

Supporting your team

Let’s care for teachers as they care for our children. When we meet the interconnected needs of teachers, we can make a difference in their health and help them flourish. Schedule a demo to learn how Vori Health can help support your team.

REFERENCES‍

Abdulmonem A, Hanan A, Elaf A, Haneen T, Jenan A. The prevalence of musculoskeletal pain & its associated factors among female Saudi school teachers. Pak J Med Sci. 2014 Nov-Dec;30(6):1191-6. doi: 10.12669/pjms.306.5778. PMID: 25674106; PMCID: PMC4320698. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4320698/^‍‍

Erick PN, Smith DR. A systematic review of musculoskeletal disorders among school teachers. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2011 Nov 17;12:260. doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-12-260. PMID: 22087739; PMCID: PMC3250950. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3250950/

Goossens L, Vercruysse S, Cardon G, Haerens L, Witvrouw E, De Clercq D. Musculoskeletal injuries in physical education versus non-physical education teachers: a prospective study. J Sports Sci. 2016;34(12):1107-15. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2015.1091491. Epub 2015 Sep 30. PMID: 26419187. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26419187/

Miller, R. (2012, November). Teacher absence as a leading indicator of student achievement: New national data offer opportunity to examine cost of teacher absence relative to learning loss. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Teacher Absence-6.pdf.

Ng YM, Voo P, Maakip I. Psychosocial factors, depression, and musculoskeletal disorders among teachers. BMC Public Health. 2019 Feb 26;19(1):234. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-6553-3. PMID: 30808335; PMCID: PMC6390562. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30808335/

Solis-Soto MT, Schön A, Solis-Soto A, Parra M, Radon K. Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among school teachers from urban and rural areas in Chuquisaca, Bolivia: a cross-sectional study. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2017 Oct 27;18(1):425. doi: 10.1186/s12891-017-1785-9. PMID: 29078763; PMCID: PMC5658995. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5658995/