In 2021, 6,378 New Zealand workers developed compression syndrome - the gradual onset injuries that come from repetitive movements, awkward postures, sustained pressure. Carpal tunnel. Trapped nerves. The kind of damage that builds over months and years until your hands go numb or your back won't straighten. (Source: Stats NZ, work-injuries-by-industry)

Three years later, that number is 9,768. The highest in 15 years.

Here's the contrast that tells the story: between 2020 and 2021, compression syndrome cases were falling. They dropped from 6,975 to 6,378. Then something reversed. In 2022, they surged to 9,714. They've stayed there ever since: 9,039 in 2023, 9,768 in 2024.

These aren't sudden injuries. Nobody wakes up one morning with carpal tunnel. It develops over time - weeks of typing at the wrong angle, months lifting boxes with poor technique, years of standing on concrete floors. The 2024 number represents nearly 10,000 people whose bodies slowly broke down at work.

The 2021 dip looked like progress. COVID lockdowns meant different working patterns, maybe better ergonomics at home, possibly fewer hours doing the physical tasks that cause these injuries. But by 2022, we were back - not just to pre-pandemic levels, but 39% higher than 2020.

You have to go back to 2009 to find compression syndrome numbers this high. That was the year after the Global Financial Crisis, when businesses were cutting corners and workers were doing more with less. Sound familiar?

The contrast between 2021 and 2024 raises uncomfortable questions. Were workplace practices genuinely improving, then abandoned? Did the rush to "return to normal" mean returning to conditions that injure workers? Or are we seeing the delayed effects of pandemic-era changes - people working longer hours, taking fewer breaks, pushing through pain because they're worried about job security?

Nearly 10,000 cases means roughly 27 workers every single day developing an injury that could last the rest of their working life. Compression syndrome doesn't heal like a sprain. It's chronic. Once the nerve damage sets in, it's permanent.

The 2021 number showed it didn't have to be this way. For one year, fewer Kiwis were developing these injuries. Then we went back to whatever we were doing before - and 3,390 more workers paid the price.