The facts
- A stockroom employee strains a shoulder lifting boxes overhead.
- The clinic refers them for six sessions of physical therapy over three weeks.
- They keep working their normal duties throughout, with no formal restriction and no days away.
The determination
Recordable
Recordable — the case meets the 1904.7(a) criterion: Medical treatment beyond first aid.
Criteria met
- • Medical treatment beyond first aid
Decision trail
- 01
Did an event or exposure in the work environment cause or contribute to the case?
Yes — presumed work-related, subject to the 1904.5(b)(2) exceptions.
29 CFR § 1904.5(a)(a) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness. Work-relatedness is presumed for injuries and illnesses resulting from events or exposures occurring in the work environment, unless an exception in § 1904.5(b)(2) specifically applies.
- 02
Is this a new case?
Yes.
29 CFR § 1904.6(a)(a) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to be a “new case” if:
- 03
Is this a musculoskeletal disorder?
Yes — but Part 1904 has no separate MSD provision, so it is recorded only if it meets the general 1904.7 criteria, like any other case.
29 CFR § 1904.7(a)(a) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to meet the general recording criteria, and therefore to be recordable, if it results in any of the following: death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness. You must also consider a case to meet the general recording criteria if it involves a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, even if it does not result in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness.
- 04
Does the case meet one or more of the general recording criteria in 1904.7(a)?
Yes — Medical treatment beyond first aid.
29 CFR § 1904.7(a)(a) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to meet the general recording criteria, and therefore to be recordable, if it results in any of the following: death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness. You must also consider a case to meet the general recording criteria if it involves a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, even if it does not result in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness.
29 CFR § 1904.7(b)(5)1904.7(b)(5)(ii)(M) states expressly that physical therapy and chiropractic treatment are considered medical treatment.
Also note
- • Record this MSD like any other case that meets the 1904.7 criteria. Part 1904 has no separate musculoskeletal-disorder provision or 300-Log column — classify the case by the injury or illness type on the form as you would for any other recordable case.
Computed at build time by Job13’s engine from the facts above — not written by hand. Change the facts and re-run it yourself →
What is actually going on here — Job13's explanation
Physical therapy is medical treatment, and the regulation says so inside the very item that makes massage first aid. It is an unusually explicit line, and it catches employers who reason that "it's just stretching and hands-on work, like a massage".
Chiropractic treatment falls on the same side. One session is enough — as with sutures, there is no threshold count.
The referral is what matters, not the outcome. An employee who improves after two sessions and cancels the rest still has a recordable case.
The provisions this turns on
In the regulation's own words
(M) Using massages (physical therapy or chiropractic treatment are considered medical treatment for recordkeeping purposes); or
Change one fact
If the clinic had only used massage and hot/cold packs
Massage and hot or cold therapy are both named on the first-aid list, so an identical shoulder strain treated that way is not recordable.
The determination on those facts instead
Not recordable
Work-related, but it meets none of the 1904.7(a) recording criteria, so it is not recordable.
Decision trail
- 01
Did an event or exposure in the work environment cause or contribute to the case?
Yes — presumed work-related, subject to the 1904.5(b)(2) exceptions.
29 CFR § 1904.5(a)(a) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness. Work-relatedness is presumed for injuries and illnesses resulting from events or exposures occurring in the work environment, unless an exception in § 1904.5(b)(2) specifically applies.
- 02
Is this a new case?
Yes.
29 CFR § 1904.6(a)(a) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to be a “new case” if:
- 03
Is this a musculoskeletal disorder?
Yes — but Part 1904 has no separate MSD provision, so it is recorded only if it meets the general 1904.7 criteria, like any other case.
29 CFR § 1904.7(a)(a) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to meet the general recording criteria, and therefore to be recordable, if it results in any of the following: death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness. You must also consider a case to meet the general recording criteria if it involves a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, even if it does not result in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness.
- 04
Does the case meet one or more of the general recording criteria in 1904.7(a)?
No — the only treatment provided appears on the exhaustive first-aid list.
29 CFR § 1904.7(a)(a) Basic requirement. You must consider an injury or illness to meet the general recording criteria, and therefore to be recordable, if it results in any of the following: death, days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness. You must also consider a case to meet the general recording criteria if it involves a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional, even if it does not result in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness.
29 CFR § 1904.7(b)(5)(iii)(iii) Are any other procedures included in first aid? No, this is a complete list of all treatments considered first aid for part 1904 purposes.
Your case is not this case
Scenarios are worked examples on stated facts. Small differences — who recommended the treatment, whether participation was voluntary, what the employee’s routine functions actually are — change the answer. Run your own facts, and the determination will show you which step decided it.
Check your case — freeNot legal advice. This page republishes 29 CFR Part 1904 as published by the eCFR and explains it. The recordkeeping duty is the employer’s. Where the rule requires judgement, Job13 says so rather than guessing — run your own case through the free check.