On average, German companies have to pay around €2,700 per year per employee for musculoskeletal disorders. Of this, €1,300 is spent on back problems alone. For a company with 500 employees, that's already €650,000 a year just for back problems.

Neck pain accounts for another large proportion of these expenses. Considering that, according to the RKI, more than 60% of Germans have had back pain in the last 12 months and more than 45% have had neck pain in the last 12 months, the high costs for companies are not at all surprising.

The question is, what can companies do to combat this high sickness rate, especially with regard to musculoskeletal disorders?

Movement in the company

It has long been recognised that exercise improves physical health and therefore also mental resilience and productivity at work. If you now consider how much money German companies have to spend on MSK illnesses, it is very surprising that only a few companies offer exercise programmes. According to MySports GmbH and YouGov Deutschland GmbH, only 22% of companies offered company sports for employees in 2022. Even more alarming, however, is the number of those who actually use the offer. Only 14% make regular use of the employer's sports programme. In general, only 36% of those surveyed stated that they would do sport regularly. This means that at least 64% of Germans do not exercise at all or only very irregularly. No wonder that MSK is one of the top 3 most common illnesses.