Not all work-related accidents occur suddenly; some slowly cause damage over a period of time. Regardless of what type of injury you have, if it was caused by working conditions, you are entitled to be compensated. Your employer's workers' comp is a valuable benefit and will pay for your medical care and time at home to recuperate. To learn more about a few of the more common repetitive stress or strain injuries that afflict those in a workplace situation, read on.
Repetitive motion damage and you
In most instances, your body does an awesome job of healing itself from minor injuries. The key factor in healing, however, is resting the affected area long enough for healing to occur. When you must perform some of the same motions over and over again while at work, the relatively minor injury has no chance to heal, and the result is a repetitive stress or strain injury that can lead to debilitating medical conditions and sometimes results in permanent damage. There are many different types of repetitive stress injuries, but here a are few of the most common ones:
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: This well-known condition is the one many people think of when they hear about this type of injury. Though it is well known, few people really know what it means and how debilitating it can be. This condition affects people who use their hands and wrists a lot, repetitively, throughout the work day. Heavy keyboard users, such as typists and data entry workers, small assembly workers, and anyone that uses their hands and wrists constantly can be affected negatively. Your wrist contains a tunnel of nerves, and compression to those nerves can lead to pain, numbness, and swelling of the wrist.
Bursitis: This inflammation of the joints may actually be quite noisy; you can often hear crunching and crackling sounds when moving the affected joints. Any joint is vulnerable, but elbows and knees are the most commonly affected, and the sufferer experiences pain and tenderness in the joints.
Tendinitis: Tendons connect joints and muscles, and tendinitis is an inflammation of the that vital connection. Those afflicted may notice an unusual amount of warmth from the affected joint area, which can progress to sharp pain and eventually, immobility.
Ensuring that workers' comp will cover your injury
Make it a high priority to get medical treatment as soon as possible, since failure to do so could result in not only permanent damage but could put any workers' comp claim in jeopardy. Make sure you inform the doctor that your job is causing the injury and keep good records of your care.
Let your supervisor know about your injury and follow through to make sure that a workers' comp claim is filed on your behalf.
If you are experiencing delays, denials or other issues in getting workers' comp to pay for your work-related injuries, you may need to speak to a workers' comp attorney from a firm such as Gilbert, Blaszcyk & Milburn LLP.
