Physical Therapy for Work Injuries

Work injuries are unfortunately very commonplace, even in work environments where one might not expect them. There are a wide range of professions that each have their unique set of challenges that require a particular blend of strength, stamina, range-of-motion, and coordination. Whether short or long-term, certain demanding job responsibilities can have a real long-term physical impact on employees.

Looking more broadly past the traumatic, serious work injuries that can occur due to strenuous lifts or the use of heavy machinery, there are also just as serious injuries that can creep up on workers who do seemingly more mundane tasks. For example, there is an increasing amount of overuse injuries that affect workers who are doing repetitive tasks. For a warehouse worker, these may include musculoskeletal injuries such as sprains or strains. Desk jockeys on the other hand who are regularly at their desk are especially susceptible to developing serious shoulder, neck or back pain due to poor posture of office setups.

To give an overview, the majority of work injuries fall into five categories:

• Sprains and Strains: These muscular issues are one of the more prevalent forms of work injuries. They are often a result of recurring activities such as constantly lifting or being in the same position for a long time. 
• Falls: Another one of the most prevalent causes of work injuries, these can happen in just about any work place.
• Falling Items: This is one the more common causes of work injuries in construction-related environments and is the reason why wearing a hardhat is essential
• Machinery accidents: Working with heavy machinery is a part of many jobs, and the malfunction or misuse of equipment can lead to injury
• Vehicular Accidents: The use of a vehicle while on the job inherently puts an employee at the risk of injury should any accident occur while in the driver’s seat

Why to Consider Physical Therapy for Work Injuries

One of the worst things you can do with a work injury is to wait and hope the condition resolves itself. Untreated injuries tend to worsen over time and can affect the ability to recover fully. 

Physical therapy for work injuries in Port Isabel and Olmito are also often covered by the workers’ compensation insurance policy of the employer and is a mandatory insurance coverage that a business must have in many states. In many cases, physical therapy for work injuries will come at no cost to the employee.

What to Expect from Physical Therapy for Occupational Injuries

A trained physical therapist will tailor their care for the particular injury at hand. As is the case for all patients, a physical therapist will first assess your overall health function and determine the extent of the injury. Once the physical therapist is confident in diagnosing the condition, they will begin to formulate an extensive health plan which might include a series of physical therapy appointments with the intended goal of getting the patient as close to or back to full function.

Finding Physical Therapy for Work Injuries

If you have experienced a work injury, we highly recommend you consider scheduling a consultation with our team. Our highly-trained physical therapists have experience in helping people complete rehabilitation from occupational injuries so they can not only return to their job site, but so that they can also return to their preferred lifestyle. Contact us today if you have any questions about whether physical therapy might be the right option for your work injury.