Occupational Injuries
Occupational injuries cover a broad spectrum of conditions ranging from accidents at work due to falling or trauma at one end of the scale to repetitive strain injuries from repeated overuse.
When injuries or at work occur as a result of trauma they are managed in the same way as any other traumatic cases -on the basis of the tissue damaged and the main functional limitations that have occurred. There may well be health and safety issues associated with these events but these are generally matters outside the direct influence of physiotherapy all our advice is often sought.
Most employers are aware of their obligations regarding health and safety, lifting and handling and general ergonomic requirements although sometimes this requires further analysis / modification in Individual circumstances.
Frequently, problems arise in work in the process of normal everyday activities such as pending, reaching, light lifting or carrying which trigger spinal pain. This is very often an indication of underlying problem which simply surfaces with a specific activity but the causes have been developing over a long period of time. The fact is frequently involved here involve poor postural alignment, limited joint flexibility or reduced muscle tone.
In these cases physiotherapy involve not only treating the acute problem but identifying the mechanisms behind the breakdown and of course planning the most appropriate interventions to improve. For people who don’t pay much attention to their musculoskeletal health this would involve some habits and lifestyle changes.
Another group of conditions which fitting under the category of occupational injuries is repetitive strain injury or RSI. We have discussed this elsewhere and almost always involves the dominant upper limb or neck and shoulder region. There are a wide variety of structures which can cause pain in this situation and the physiotherapy treatment needs to be specific to the structures involved. It is vitally important that clinicians have experience in dealing with these kind of symptoms as these cases are usually complex and involve a well thought out management plan and specific types of treatments which are tailored to individual needs. Unfortunately it is still too common to see cases where lots of different treatments have been tried to manage the symptoms but not address the underlying causes.
