Depending on your profession, you may put a lot of stress on your back throughout the day. While some people are able to deal with this, others find that it leads to a serious injury at some point.
If you have any reason to believe you’ve suffered a lower back injury, don’t continue to do your job. You need to stop all activity, receive medical attention and get a better idea of what is going on.
Here are some of the many things you can do from a treatment perspective:
- Ice your back in an attempt to reduce both pain and swelling
- Apply heat after several days of icing
- Use over-the-counter pain medication
- Get plenty of rest
- Consider the benefits of physical therapy
- Learn why the injury happened and what you can do to avoid the same in the future
It’s easy to believe that a lower back injury is simple to deal with on your own. You may even get the idea that you can “fight through the pain” and continue to work.
However, continuing to put strain on an injured back is a mistake you want to avoid at all costs.
If you suffer a lower back injury on the job, receive medical treatment and then follow the professional advice you receive. You may find that you need is to take some time away from work, which could lead you to file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits.
If your claim is denied, learn why this happened and then focus on the appeals process. You don’t want to give up until you have exhausted all your options.
Source: Web MD, “Low Back Strain,” accessed Jan. 04, 2018