Recover from Work Injuries at Lake County Physical Therapy
Our work hardening and conditioning program is specialized and consists of specific job-simulated activities for the injured patient to be able to return back to the same level of work they were doing before their injury. At our physical therapy clinics we customize treatment plans to the patient’s particular job and the therapist ensures that the patient is able to do the same level of activity safely and without pain thereby reducing the chances of re-injury upon returning back to work. The level and intensity of the activity is gradually increased until the patient is safely performing or exceeding his required tasks. This program gives the injured worker the best chance to return back to their heavy workload, especially if they are still not able to return back to work after regular physical therapy.
What is Work Hardening?
Work Hardening is a specialized program with a different focus from post-injury therapy. The focus is to get the worker in work shape to successfully return to their pre-injury job. The primary job functions are simulated in the clinic with indirect supervision from a physical therapist. This can be done in a group setting in which each patient is working on the job-specific tasks required to get them back to work. Work Hardening is an ideal way to get a recovered patient back to work while minimizing the potential of re-injury.
What is Work Conditioning?
This is similar to work hardening but usually comes before. Work Conditioning is performed within the course of post-injury therapy and contains a certain work task being performed as a part of the routine physical therapy treatment. An example would be a maintenance worker who needs to work on their fine motor skills, spending 10 minutes working on skills like grasping, pushing, and pulling to strengthen small hand movements.
Common Work Injuries:
Back injuries: Back-related injuries are common for employees. We see patients who experience back pain from working at a desk all day, lifting heavy items or performing tasks that are strenuous on their back muscles.
Sprains and strains: Sprains and strains can occur on the job from many activities. Falling, trauma or repetitive movements can cause injury to tendons or ligaments. If a worker is not properly using equipment, they can also become injured.
Carpal tunnel syndrome: Carpal tunnel syndrome is when pressure is applied to the median nerve. This can cause tingling, weakness, or numbness. Activities that can cause this include repetitive movements like working on a computer all day, or other tasks that require repetitive hand motions.
Contact Lake County Physical Therapy to get started with work injury treatment
Physical therapy is a proven way to treat work injuries. At our physical therapy clinics in Mundelein and Hoffman Estates, our team will provide customized care to get you back to work. Physical therapy is a natural treatment method, and our team will provide you with home exercise techniques, and guidelines for proper performance to avoid being injured in the future.
Schedule your appointment with our team today, or contact us directly if you are a physician with patients who need worker’s compensation treatment.