Work Injury

Preventing and treating work injury has important economic, psychosocial, and physical implications. Physical therapists play a major role in this endeavor. We encourage you to call us if you or a loved one is injured on the job.

General Guidelines for Securing Workman’s Compensation

In order for your work injury rehab to be covered with a workman’s compensation claim, physical therapy treatment needs to be ordered by your physician. The insurance company must also give approval.

In order to ensure a successful workman’s comp claim, it’s imperative to report your injury to your employer right away and seek medical treatment as soon as possible.

What are Common Types of Work Injury?

Common conditions for which people seek disability or workers comp claims include:

• Bursitis
• Tendonitis
• Muscle strains and ligament sprains
• Sciatica
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Plantar fasciitis
• Whiplash
• Bone fractures

The above list isn’t all-inclusive. Without proper diagnosis and treatment, many employees also go on to struggle with secondary complications including chronic conditions.

Common Causes of a Work Injury

Virtually no job or job field is immune to injury risk: both sedentary jobs (e.g., office workers, teachers, long haul truckers) as well as more physically demanding jobs can impose potential health hazards to employees.

The following are a few of the most common causes of a work-related injury:

• Repetitive movement, especially typing, assembly line work, and overhead movement
• Excessive sitting
• Overuse
• Lifting heavy objects
• Being struck by falling objects
• Operating heavy machinery
• Slips and falls
• Work-related motor vehicle accidents
• Hazardous material exposure

Many of these causative factors are cumulative, meaning that over time can weaken an area of the body and cause inflammation and tissue damage. In other cases, the precipitating event is sudden and acute (such as in the case of a slip and fall).

Even when employers and companies due to their due diligence to minimize the prevalence of work injuries, incidents can and do occur. In these cases, timely and appropriate rehabilitative care is essential.

How a Performance Rehab Physical Therapist Can Treat & Prevent Work-Related Injuries

Among employees injured on the job, it’s return-to-work which often consumes their concerns.

A physical therapist can help you get back to work as soon as possible while also maximizing your outcomes and alleviating problematic symptoms. PTs can do this relying on a combination of manual therapy, therapeutic exercises, and modalities to facilitate healing and recovery.

For example, a typical plan of care for work-related injuries may include:

• Joint mobilization
• Therapeutic exercises and stretches
• Hot and cold treatment
• Therapeutic ultrasound
• Electrical stimulation
• Dry needling

Together, these treatments can heal injured tissues, reduce inflammation and pain, restore normal mobility and postural alignment, and increase muscle strength and aerobic endurance. When you meet with your PT, the most appropriate treatments for you will be selected, modified, and progressed as necessary, depending on your unique needs and stages of healing.

Request a consult at Performance Rehab in Nashua, NH and start feeling better today!