Return to Work

(Female Announcer) Back injuries are a growing concern for Manitobans Especially when those back injusries occur at work. (Darren Oryniak - Vice President, Compensation Services Workers Compensation Board of Mantiba) - Some positive new is that the number of back injuries over the past four or five years has been decreasing However, it still is the most common type of injury we have and of the 15,000 time loss injuries we have per year about 1 in 4 is a back injury, or 25%. (Dr. William Rothman - Chiropractor) Typically in a workplace the mechanical injuries are sprain and strain type injuries - where you may be lifting or doing a repetitive motion or any sustained load that overstresses the tissues in the back. (Announcer) The good news is that most back injuries heal within one to six weeks. - But what might surprise some people is that rest isn't necessarily the best medicine. (Dr Kanwal Saran, MD, Dip. Sport Med (CASM), Sports Medicine Doctor) Well the old school thinking of treating a lower back pain was essentially a bed rest. - Well, physicians would tell patients you have to have bed rest, and to the point where people would become very stiff, very sore - and they'd try to get back into activity but would find that because they were inactive for so long - now activities that didn't use to bother them, bother them more. - The new school of thinking, and it's been supported by research, shows that a more active based approach - keeps people limber, keeps people moving, they tend to do better. (Becky Atkinson - Physiotherapist) When you are injured the best thing that you can do is walk. - It's a very gentle, non-impacting force and gets the whole body involved. - But other activities like swimming or riding your stationary bike, - or dancing, whether it's ballroom dancing or even going out to a club, - you can move your body as long as you respect it and don't go into your pain. The key point is moderation. It's being gentle. It's listening to yourself - and not worsening your problem. - but keeping in mind that you should and you can be moving for the best result. (Announcer) An earlier return to work can also be good for a person recovering from a back injury. Our goal at WCB is to help people get back to health and work as soon as possible. - And the best way to do that is to work with your practitioner, your health care practictioner, and follow a treatment plan and also participate in a return to work program. - So the value of return to work programs is that it has been shown that people that do participate in them - get better quicker and are able to return to the job they were doing before they were injured. - and there's a real benefit for the workplaces to retain trained and experienced people and keep them in the workforce. - And so it certainly is a win/win situation when you do have an effective return to work program. ----- (Dr Kanwal Saran, MD, Dip. Sport Med (CASM), Sports Medicine Doctor) Our research has shown that if we get people back into some form of gradual return to work. - either with restrictions or just generally getting back to a gradual return; - two hours a day to four hours to six hours a day to eight hours a day they are the people that tend to recover quicker. (Dr. William Rothman - Chiropractor) Typical modifications normally include lessening the loads that you're lifting, modified hours, alternating jobs so - you're not continually doing one job so there's not that continuous stress - and changing position -- sitting, standing -- there's all sorts of modificaitons that will help a worker return while still experiencing some pain. (Announcer) For injured workers an earlier to work aids recovery reduces the amount of income lost and keeps them feeling connected to their workplace. - Employers pay less WCB cost, maintain their productivity and save time and money that would otherwise be spent - on hiring and training a new worker. - But the goal is to prevent injuries from happening in the first place. (Becky Atkinson - Physiotherapist) On a day to basis when, to prevent back - injuries or to maintain your back health the best thing that you can do daily stretches for your back. - Knee to hugs, arching backwards, side bending, doing everything that we have - the ability to do, like, our back can bend and it can twist. - So it should be kept there in a safe way but also make sure it's strong, not just loose. Do some partial situps, some bridging squats. Again squats are really important to have those legs strong for lifting from your legs rather than from your back. - Everything that ills our body I think has to do with lack of activity and respect, - back to respect for your body and consciousness of your body and how you are moving in your daily life. - So, strengthening your body, epecially your core, and your legs and, - which goes hand and hand with knowing how to lift and how to move properly - rather than you slouch to these bending and twisting ways that we are accustomed to simply by habit. (Dr Kanwal Saran, MD, Dip. Sport Med (CASM), Sports Medicine Doctor) A more active approach keeps the weight off. - A more active approach keeps you limber, a more active approach keeps you strong. The muscles around the lumbar spine are like any other muscle. If you don't use it you lose it. - And that's typical of these, of any muscle; more specifically for the back. (Announcer) When it comes to your back, whether you're on the road to recovery or taking the path of prevention, - it's worth your while to keep exercising, stay active and get back to basics. - Download your freeBack to Basics guide at wcb.mb.ca