May 4, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Sprains, strains by far the most common injuries resulting in time away from work

More than 4 out of 10 injuries and illnesses resulting in time away from work in 1998 were sprains and strains, most involving the back.

Lost-worktime injuries and illnesses resulting in time away from work, by selected nature of injury and illness, 1998 (in thousands)
[Chart data—TXT]

Bruises and contusions, cuts and lacerations, and fractures followed well behind sprains and strains as leading causes of time away from work.

Except for one category, all of the types of cases shown in the chart experienced a decline between 1997 and 1998. Cuts and lacerations was the only injury category that increased from 1997 to 1998, rising by 3 percent.

These data are a product of the BLS Safety and Health Statistics program. Additional information is available from news release USDL 00-115, "Lost-worktime Injuries and Illnesses: Characteristics and Resulting Time Away From Work, 1998."

Happy 10th Birthday, TED!

The very first issue of The Editor's Desk (TED) was posted on September 28, 1998. TED was the first online-only publication of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For 10 years, BLS has been committed to posting a new TED article each business day, for a total of over 2,400 articles so far.

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