NOV NIBJ CONTRIBUTED CONTENT: A new approach to getting injured employees back to work

For many business owners, a workers’ compensation claim carries an unsettling expectation: weeks or months of medications, repeated appointments, and an uncertain return-to-work timeline. That model of occupational pain care, however, is increasingly outdated.

Across the field of pain management, the clinical approach to work-related injuries has shifted toward non-opioid, function-focused care as the starting point, rather than as an option considered only after medications or passive treatments have failed. The emphasis is increasingly on identifying the source of pain, addressing it appropriately, restoring physical function, and establishing a clear pathway back to productive activity.

For employers, this evolution has important implications. A relatively straightforward injury can become substantially more difficult — and more expensive — when pain persists, activity declines, and treatment becomes prolonged. A function-first approach is intended to reduce unnecessary treatment delays, minimize the risk of an acute injury developing into a chronic disability, and support a more predictable progression toward full occupational function. At the industry level, these principles align medical treatment more closely with what employers ultimately need: healthy employees who can safely resume productive work.

In practice, this can involve a coordinated treatment plan rather than a single intervention. Depending on the injury, targeted procedural treatment may be used to address a specific pain generator, while physical therapy and progressive activity focus on restoring strength, mobility, and work-related function. Throughout treatment, the objective remains measurable functional improvement and a safe return to the employee’s regular duties.

In our occupational injury practice, this model means looking beyond simply reducing a patient's pain score. We consider the underlying source of pain, appropriate interventional treatment when indicated, rehabilitation needs, and the functional requirements of the individual’s job.

Consider a representative example: an adult employee in a physically demanding occupation develops significant knee pain following a workplace injury. Rather than relying primarily on medication while waiting for symptoms to resolve, the treatment plan focused on identifying the pain source, providing targeted treatment, and beginning appropriate rehabilitation. With progressive improvement in strength and function, the employee is now able to return to full duty within several weeks, with no ongoing complaints of pain.

The broader lesson for regional employers is that workers’ compensation care does not necessarily have to mean a prolonged, medication-centered process. As occupational pain management continues to evolve, businesses that understand this shift — and work within systems that emphasize function and timely recovery — may see shorter claim durations and faster returns to productive work.