How can physical therapists help me when I’ve been injured on the job?

If you’ve been injured on the job, you’re not alone. Workplace injuries happen a lot more than you may think. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employers reported 2.8 million nonfatal workplace injuries in 2019. While many of these minor workplace injuries occurred in manufacturing, numerous others happened in office settings. 

Employees suffering from job-related injuries cannot perform at their peak. If you are experiencing pain related to an injury that happened at work, you should seek medical attention, such as from a physical therapist, so your condition does not worsen. 

Injured on the job

Minor workplace injuries happen within the workplace and oftentimes do not require missed work. For example, some injuries may include:

• Sprains or strains.
• Minor puncture wounds.
• Bruising. 
• Small lacerations.

Seeing a physical therapist can help improve your symptoms.

How physical therapy can help you

Physical therapy can be used to treat a myriad of job-related injuries. For example, physical therapy may be used to treat conditions related to the upper extremities. This is commonly referred to as hand therapy and can be beneficial in reducing pain and increasing strength and mobility. If you experience carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms, hand therapy may help you find relief.

Have you found yourself in the middle of a workers’ compensation claim due to a workplace injury? We offer our workers’ comp patients the following services: 

• Physical therapy — to help you improve your strength and heal your injury.
• Functional capacity evaluations (select locations) — If you have been injured on the job, you should have a functional capacity evaluation done.This will help determine if you are able to return to work without injuring yourself further. A functional capacity evaluation will help you determine when it’s safest for you to return to work with the lowest risk of reinjuring yourself. 
• Work conditioning/hardening (select locations) — to help your body be able to physically perform work-related tasks.

Learn how our physical therapy services can help you get back to work. Contact us today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.