Workers Comp Physical Therapy

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Workers Comp Physical Therapy in Brooklyn

HOW CAN WORKERS’ COMP PHYSICAL THERAPY HELP ME?

If you have sustained an injury or illness related to your job duties, workers’ comp physical therapy may be able to help you to improve your symptoms. Physical therapists may provide care under workers’ compensation to clients who are experiencing musculoskeletal injuries like a fractured bone or back pain, after a neurologic injury like a concussion, to help heal a wound or a burn or to rehabilitate the heart and lungs.

WHAT DOES WORKERS’ COMP PHYSICAL THERAPY LOOK LIKE?

While workers’ comp physical therapy is specifically to address injuries or illnesses that are a direct result of one’s job duties, the physical therapy treatment is the same as is provided for those who have sustained an injury during a weekend soccer game, for example. My team of therapists and I will always start by getting to know your concerns and goals and interviewing you about the demands of your specific job duties. We will perform a thorough physical exam to look for the cause or contributing factors to your symptoms. With all of this knowledge in hand, we will create a custom program that may consist of hands-on techniques performed by our therapists combined with carefully prescribed movements and exercises performed by you in the clinic and at home.

HOW LONG WILL I NEED PHYSICAL THERAPY?

The length of your physical therapy plan of care will be determined by your physical therapist, doctor and insurance plan. Many factors play a role in determining optimal duration of physical therapy including the severity of the initial injury and how you are responding to physical therapy. In most cases you will begin to experience improvements early on in your course of care with continued recovery happening over time.

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WHAT IS WORKER’S COMPENSATION?

In the state of New York, the Workers’ Compensation Board defines workers’ compensation as “insurance that provides cash benefits and/or medical care for workers who are injured or become ill as a direct result of their job.” Because of the role of physical therapy in treating injuries and illnesses affecting multiple body systems, physical therapy may be recommended to treat work-related injuries which are covered under workers’ compensation benefits.

With few exceptions, the amount that the claimant receives is not increased or decreased based on whether the employee or employer are “at fault”. If the employer or workers’ comp insurance agree that the injury or illness is a direct result of the person’s job then benefits will be paid out to cover the cost of necessary medical care. If there is a disagreement as to the cause of the claim, a judge specializing in workers’ compensation law will make a judgment.

WHAT TYPES OF WORK-RELATED INJURIES DO PHYSICAL THERAPISTS TREAT?

Physical therapists can help address many different types of work-related injuries. Below you will find some of the most common types of work-related injuries that workers’ comp physical therapy treats:

Musculoskeletal injuries: if you are experiencing injury, pain, or dysfunction in the muscles or bones, musculoskeletal physical therapy can help you heal and restore healthy movement. Examples of musculoskeletal injuries include:

Back and neck pain
Other joint pain or injury (knee, ankle, foot, hip, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand)
Post-surgery recovery
Fracture recovery
Rotator cuff injury
Muscle strain
Ligament sprains
Muscle contusions
Muscle stiffness and tightness

Wound care: you may see a physical therapist to help care for a wound that is healing. This includes cuts, abrasions, and burns. Note: you will typically be referred to a wound care clinic for this type of care.

Neurologic injuries: injuries or disorders resulting directly from the workplace such as concussions, traumatic brain injuries, strokes, spinal cord injuries or peripheral nerve injuries may require physical therapy to help recover from the injury and restore function.

Cardiac and pulmonary rehab: if injury to the heart and lungs occurred as a result of a workplace injury or as a complication of a workplace injury then you might work with a physical therapist trained in cardiac or pulmonary rehabilitation to improve the function of the heart and lungs.

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**End Injury Progression**
Physical therapy for workers compensation injury claims has generally been proven to help slow and even stop injury pain, related injury issues, and even stopping injury progression in many cases.

**Relieve Pain**
The movements used in physical therapy can target any area of your , from foot to neck, helping you to manage pain during the course of your physical therapy treatments.

**Improve Range of Motion**
Posture awareness is an important area to focus on due to the fact that certain positions may cause you further pain and possibly further injury.

**Restore Mobility**
You can regain mobility and flexibility by taking part in the specialized stretches and exercises as prescribed by your workers comp physical therapist.

WHAT TREATMENT TECHNIQUES ARE USED IN WORKERS’ COMP PHYSICAL THERAPY?

If you decide to work with a physical therapist to help correct your work related injury and issues, your entire treatment plan could consist of around 8-20+ different physical therapy sessions that will each last 60-90 minutes. Once you complete your customized workers comp. physical therapy treatment plan, you will be able to continue to do the prescribed stretches and exercises utilized during your PT sessions yet in the comfort of your own home.

While the specific treatment delivered to you will depend on the reason you are receiving physical therapy, here are some treatments commonly used at our facility to address work-related injuries:

Manual therapy: Manual therapy is a hands-on manipulative type of physical therapy that your physical therapist can use to reduce areas of pain and discomfort and improve joint and tissue mobility.

Postural re-education and body mechanics training: learning to move well can be an important step to recovering from an injury. By learning to adjust your posture and move in an efficient and safe way you can perform more activities with less discomfort and a lower risk of injury.

Strength and flexibility training: graded exercises to improve muscle strength and overall flexibility will be prescribed to meet your current abilities. Having adequate strength and flexibility around joints, muscles and other tissues can help reduce symptoms of pain and help you feel more capable of moving and performing tasks at work.

Gait and balance training: if you are having difficulty with balancing or walking then physical therapy can help you to recover these skills. You will receive training on how to use an assistive device such as a wheelchair, walker, crutches or cane if needed. Interventions aimed at improving balance, strength, walking endurance and walking mechanics may be beneficial.

Education: both understanding the mechanics of your body and how things that you do in your work may be helping or exacerbating your symptoms is an important part of your physical therapy program. Our goal with education is to help you understand your condition and how you can help yourself to recovery.

If you are looking for a team of top physical therapists to help you recover from a work-related injury or illness, call us today to learn more about our services and schedule an evaluation: