Utilizing Wearable Sensor Technology and Customized Wellness Plans to Reduce Work-Related Injuries and Improve Employee Health

An industry-leading guide dog school was experiencing an increasing number of work-related musculoskeletal injuries shortening the length of their trainers’ careers. This was particularly troubling because the company was struggling to retain trainers longer than five years and losing significant money due to the costly nature of training new team members. The company knew they needed to address this issue but wasn’t sure where to start.

Personalized Wellness Plan Driven by Data

With the support of company management, a Briotix Health Industrial Sports Medicine Professional (ISMP) designed a customized worker health program with goals of retaining employees and optimizing trainer performance.  The comprehensive program included wearable technology, personalized wellness, and one-on-one job coaching.

Capturing Employee Fitness Data Using Wearable Technology

The ISMP began the program roll-out with wearable sensor evaluations of the trainers’ job. Each trainer then completed a Functional Movement Screen (FMS), fitness testing, and health survey. Knowing the each trainer’s job demands, health, fitness, and movement quality levels was key to designing a personalized wellness plan that would optimize their work performance and reduce the risk of injury.

Turning the Data into Actionable Plans

After capturing each employee’s individual fitness data, the ISMP designed customized, holistic wellness plans that included mental health, nutrition, cardiovascular conditioning and movement, and strength training components. The exercise programs were based on the areas of greatest need for each individual trainer. The plans delivered the minimum effective dose of exercise to ensure trainers were not increasing the risk of injury by over training.

Putting the Plan Into Action

To help employees accomplish their goals based on their personal wellness plans, the ISMP worked with each individual trainer in one-on-one coaching sessions both in the gym and on the job. In the gym, the ISMP helped facilitate all health, fitness, movement, and injury prevention goals. On the job, the ISMP assessed the work environment and the essential job functions to deliver recommendations on how to best reduce the risk of injury given their current functional capabilities.

Results Show a Significant Reduction in Risk of Injury and Chronic Disease

Over the eight-week program, participants experienced significant improvements in their functional movement and risk for chronic illness. Employees improved their functional body movement by 11.11% and reduced the risk of developing a chronic disease by 12.5%. Improved overall health and functional movement are indicators of decreased risk of musculoskeletal injury.

Due to the success of the program, the company expanded the role of the Briotix Health providers to include our comprehensive Industrial Sports Medicine™ service line.