Days and weeks of pain. Extended periods of time off work. Financial hardship. These are all things you could experience if you develop a work injury.
Unfortunately, far too many Americans end up dealing with work injuries. In fact, researchers reveal that more than 900,000 U.S. adults were injured on the job in 2018. One way to ensure that your work injury receives the most effective treatment is to work with a physical therapist. These specialists can help you learn about the type of injury you’re dealing with, and they also have multiple therapy methods that can help treat it.
Common types of work injuries
There are many types of injuries people can develop on the job. Depending on the type of job you have, you may have an increased risk for one of the following common work-related injuries:
What’s involved in work injury treatment with a physical therapist?
Physical therapists will perform a complete assessment of your current abilities to perform work tasks. This can include your ability to walk, carry objects and use job-specific tools.
This type of assessment is called a functional capacity evaluation, and it’s intended to help identify if you are ready to return to work safely. It also provides a detailed summary of your physical abilities regarding your work environment.
After completing the functional capacity evaluation, your physical therapist may recommend a work injury therapy program. Most treatment plans for work injuries use some the following techniques:
- Manual therapy — This is a category of therapy. Each technique within this category involves your physical therapist using their hands to move and manipulate your body. Some manual therapy methods are used to apply therapeutic pressure to soft tissue. Others are designed to help reduce pain and stiffness in joints.
- Therapeutic exercises — Many work injuries occur because of an underlying weakness or tightness in a muscle or muscles. Your physical therapist can use therapeutic exercises to strengthen and stretch the muscles around the site of your injury.
- Mulligan technique — This therapy technique is used to help treat injuries that result from misaligned joints, muscles or bones. Your physical therapist can use the Mulligan technique to manipulate and mobilize the structures around the injury site. This allows them to bring the affected structure back into normal alignment, which can reduce pain.
You’ll find top-notch work injury treatment at Panther Physical Therapy
Our therapists at Panther Physical Therapy take pride in helping to treat your work injuries. We understand that getting back to work and being able to provide for your family is important. Our physical therapists can help you get started on your road to recovery with a free screening. Then, we’ll build you a personalized physical therapy plan intended to decrease your pain and get you back to work sooner.
Is your injury keeping you stuck at home? That’s OK! Our team offers several services that you can use from home, including virtual therapy and at-home care sessions. Even better, you can start your physical therapy with us even if you don’t have a doctor’s referral yet.
Contact our team today for more information about how we can assist with work injuries or to schedule your initial appointment.