Your work may be a lot of things to you. It might be fulfilling and rewarding. It might be frustrating and tiring. It might be a complex and ever-changing combo of these things. What you might not think of your work as, though, is something that can cause you to be injured.
Unfortunately, there are many people who get hurt at work every year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 3 out of every 100 full-time U.S. workers were injured or became ill at work in 2019. If you happen to be one of the people who gets hurt at work, physical therapists can help you recover. Indeed, these medical specialists can take many steps to help you with your work injury.
Physical therapists can take these four steps to help those who have been hurt at work
You may recognize the names of many potential work injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome. However, you may not know what steps physical therapists can take to help you when you’ve been hurt at work. Some of the steps they can take to help you include:
- Evaluating you — Effective treatment typically begins with identifying the injury you have. Physical therapists can perform a comprehensive evaluation on you. This evaluation may involve them examining the injured area. They may also want to examine how the injury affects your ability to move.
- Educating you — Once your physical therapist determines which injury you have, they will often give you some information about it. Why? They want you to know as much about your condition as possible. This knowledge can help you understand why your physical therapist is choosing certain treatments for you. It may also help you become a more active participant in your physical therapy, which can help make it more effective.
- Addressing your symptoms — Pain, swelling and stiffness are all common symptoms that occur after you’ve been hurt at work. Your physical therapist can address your injury’s symptoms using a variety of treatment techniques. A few of the techniques they may use to help you include:
- Joint mobilization.
- Soft tissue mobilization.
- Aquatic therapy.
- Functional dry needling.
- Therapeutic exercises.
- Spine care and stabilization training.
- Helping prevent future injuries — One of the most important steps a physical therapist can take when treating your work injury is helping you prevent future injuries. They can do so by helping build up your strength and flexibility. They can also show you how specific work tasks can lead to another injury and help you find ways to do such tasks more safely. Additionally, your physical therapist can offer ergonomic recommendations that can help improve your posture.
You’re not alone when you’ve been hurt at work. Border TS can help you recover
It’s easy to feel like you alone are responsible for recovering after you’ve been hurt at work. However, our team at Border Therapy Services wants you to know that you don’t have to face a work injury alone. We excel at partnering with injured workers throughout their entire recovery process. Our physical therapists can even do a free screening for you to determine what injury you have and get you started on your road to recovery.
Contact our team today for more information about our work injury treatment services or to schedule your initial appointment with us.