Working in healthcare requires education and people skills. It also requires a degree of physical fitness. Nurses, personal care assistants (PCAs) and other professionals providing hands-on support to the medically vulnerable can easily hurt themselves when lifting or assisting patients.
They are at risk of both sudden traumatic injury from overexertion and repetitive strain injuries from needing to regularly lift or manipulate people’s bodies. Such injuries can be difficult to treat and can leave healthcare professionals unable to perform basic job functions. Those who hurt their backs, knees or other joints providing patient care may need to pursue workers’ compensation benefits.
Overexertion injuries are common
According to a review of lost-time incidents in hospitals, almost half of all incidents (48%) that injure medical workers involve overexertion or bodily reactions. A nurse throwing out their back after helping a patient off the floor is one example of an overexertion injury. A repetitive strain injury to the knees or lower back from years of lifting or supporting patients is another type of common overexertion injury.
Medical workers may need to take a lengthy leave of absence to allow their bodies to heal. In some cases, medical professionals might actually need to change their job responsibilities to reduce their risk of re-injuring themselves.
The injuries that medical professionals sustain can potentially leave them unable to work indefinitely in the worst cases. Medical professionals like nurses shouldn’t delay seeking care and reporting their limitations, as deferred treatment could lead to a worse long-term prognosis. Taking time away or adjusting job responsibilities may be necessary to avoid worsening symptoms.
Benefits can help those hurt by work
Workers’ compensation can pay for the treatment costs. The available benefits can also replace a portion of the worker’s lost wages so that they can cover basic cost-of-living expenses after getting hurt. Especially with the average weight of patients slowly increasing over the years, lifting-related incidents associated with patient care have been and are likely to remain a leading cause of injuries to medical professionals.
Seeking workers’ compensation benefits can help those hurt while lifting or caring for patients. Treatment and time off may allow them to return to work with less risk of injury in the future.