Helped Through Rolfing - Starkey Laboratories

 

 

Repetitive Stress Injuries Reduced with On-Site Rolfing® SI

When repetitive stress injuries (RSIs) like carpal tunnel syndrome began driving up workers' compensation costs, Starkey Laboratories—one of the world’s largest custom hearing aid manufacturers—took an innovative step.

 In 1992, the Minnesota-based company added Rolfing® Structural Integration to its employee wellness program, bringing in a Certified Advanced Rolfer™ to work with employees experiencing RSI symptoms.

The results were striking: within a few years, the company saw a dramatic drop in surgeries, injury claims, and insurance costs, along with improved productivity and employee well-being. Today, Rolfing® remains a key part of Starkey's workplace wellness strategy across multiple facilities.

Certified Rolfers® On-Site Make a Significant Difference

According to Larry Miller, Director of Human Resources at Starkey, workers' compensation costs were "going through the roof" in the early 1990s. The rising number of RSIs, including carpal tunnel syndrome, was a major contributor.

In response, Starkey brought in Siana Goodwin, Certified Advanced Rolfer™, to provide Rolfing SI on-site for employees with RSI symptoms. For the past several years, Sandra L. Jones, Certified Rolfer®, has continued that work at Starkey’s Eden Prairie plant with dramatic results:

  • Before the program: 7 employees underwent carpal tunnel surgery in a single year.
     
  • Since the program: There have been no carpal tunnel surgeries at the Eden Prairie plant in over six years.
     
  • One employee who was recommended for a second surgery avoided it entirely after receiving Rolfing SI. The Rolfing sessions cost $600, compared to $35,000 for surgery.
     
  • Starkey’s modification factor (a measure used to calculate workers’ comp premiums) dropped from 0.92 to 0.61. For context, the national average is 0.95, and anything under 0.85 is considered excellent.
     
  • Workers’ compensation costs fell by 92% in just seven years.

Company-Wide Benefits 

In addition to reducing RSI-related injuries and costs, Starkey has experienced improvements in:

  • Employee productivity
  • Absenteeism rates
  • Overall wellness and morale
  • Cost savings across turnover, health insurance, training, and unemployment, estimated at $2,500 per employee per year

The success of the program led Starkey to expand access to Rolfing SI across multiple locations:

  • In 2005, the company opened a new facility in Eden Prairie, increasing the number of employees with access to Rolfing SI to 1,300.
     
  • That same year, Erin Herdina, Certified Rolfer®, began working with 228 employees at the Glencoe, MN, plant.
     
  • Jon Martine, Certified Advanced Rolfer™, brought Rolfing to the Colorado Springs, CO, plant, where 27 employees receive sessions on a volunteer basis.

Starkey’s Rolfing program was recognized as one of the "best practices" by the Minnesota Quality Awards in 1996, setting a high standard for employee wellness initiatives in the manufacturing industry.