ABSTRACT
Many articles and books tell us that people in America have a 50 plus billion dollar a year problem. Unfortunately, little has been done to curb this spiraling expense. Presently, on any given work day there are over 10,000,000 people seeking treatment or are off work due to back pain. The enormous loss of productivity at these rates is staggering. The National Center for Health Statistics shows the number of people disabled from back pain has increased by 168% in the US from 1970 to 1986. That is 14 times faster than the population growth. It has been reported in lectures and seminars some four million Americans are disabled due to back pain. Miners in the US are mandated by law to have 8 to 16 hours of annual retraining each year. Miners get trained and educated on safe work practices. Perhaps industry at large needs to mandate this policy prior to the government requiring it by law.
