You had all the safety courses in training, including on how to lift a patient twice your size. You followed protocol, and yet, a sudden pain surged through your back, bringing tears to your eyes.
You have to give up your nursing job, but, all you care about is being able to walk down the stairs without collapsing in pain. What can you do now?
How do you know if you have injured your back?
The Mayo Clinic, identifies some of the following back injury symptoms:
- Your muscle aches
- You have a stabbing or shooting pain in your back
- Your pain radiates down your leg
- You have limited flexibility or range of motion in your back
A back pain does not always mean a back injury. Some of those symptoms can be caused by pre-existing conditions that, while painful, are simply exacerbated due to some activity.
What kind of work related injuries can cause your back pain?
It’s true, anyone can hurt their back while at work. Some jobs, however, such as nursing or construction workers specially require heavy or frequent lifting. Despite all the training in the world, you can hurt your back.
- If you repeatedly do heavy lifting or do make a sudden awkward movement, your may strain your back muscles and or you spinal ligaments.
- If you do something just wrong while lifting and rupture a disk your back. The disks act as cushions between the bones (vertebrae) in your spine, and if it bulges or ruptures, the pain will sear.
Why pursue a workers’ compensation or personal injury claim for back injuries
Back injuries in the work environment are horrible. The pain might last for six weeks, three months or develop into a chronic problem. All of this can interrupt your life; cause you to miss work, and potentially make you disabled. Getting the proper care and compensation during recovery is crucial.
While it can happen to anyone, if it happens to you, you know how crippling it can be. In addition to a long recovery period, you may have unexpected medical bills, and wage loss. It may be a good idea to contact a workers’ compensation, disability, or personal injury attorney about your options.
