North Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog

 

This is the first in the Deuterman Law Group's series of blog articles about alternative therapies for back injuries and pain management.

In this article, we’ll explore acupuncture, a centuries-old Chinese medicine technique that has been used to treat pain chronic pain, nausea, migraines and other painful conditions. Future articles in this series will explore reiki, massage, yoga, Pilates and other alternative treatments and pain-management techniques.

This article is presented for informational purposes only. As always, please consult with your physician and other health care providers before undertaking exercise regimen or alternative treatment.

 

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Many injured and disabled workers also will develop depression – creating a double whammy of physical and emotional pain that can prolong recovery and lead to additional health problems.

The stress and financial burdens of being out of work combined with physical pain and the loss of identity that many out-of-work people injured people experience quite often leads to associated depression, according to medical research and our own experience with clients at the Deuterman Law Group. Unfortunately, so-called secondary depression is often under diagnosed, according to a 2005 article in trade journal Risk & Insurance.

 It is important for anyone who is suffering from depression to seek treatment, especially those who have an injury or disability that prevents them from working. Studies have linked pain with depression, and there’s evidence that depression can slow recovery from an injury or illness.

“Depression may increase your response to pain, or at least increase the suffering associated with pain,” according to the Mayo Clinic. “Conversely, chronic pain is stressful and depressing in itself. Sometimes pain and depression create a vicious cycle,”

A 2005 British study revealed that 20 percent to 30 percent of people injured in car accidents or on the job had their recovery impacted by depression and other psychological factors.

In workers’ compensation cases, depression that is the result of a work injury may be compensable. In other instances, depressed individuals may qualify for Social Security Disability.

If a client is experiencing symptoms of depression, it’s important that they are evaluated by a qualified medical professional, who can prescribe a course of treatment that may include therapy, anti-depressants or a combination.

It’s also important that clients share this information with their attorney and paralegal, as this may be important to the case. We may be able to we may be able to offer additional help and referrals to a support groups, community resources and medical professionals who can help our clients deal with these problems and overcome their depression.

Only a qualified medical professional diagnose depression, but the following is a list of symptoms:

• Loss of interest in normal daily activities
• Feeling sad or down
• Feeling hopeless
• Crying spells for no apparent reason
• Problems sleeping
• Trouble focusing or concentrating
• Difficulty making decisions
• Unintentional weight gain or loss
• Irritability
• Restlessness
• Being easily annoyed
• Feeling fatigued or weak
• Feeling worthless
• Loss of interest in sex
• Thoughts of suicide or suicidal behavior
• Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches

The Mayo Clinic also offers a depression self-assessment tool online.

 

 

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Getting injured on the job has a costly ripple effect that hurts the worker and the employer's bottom
line. It means lost work time, workers' compensation expenses and other hefty bills.

Not all injuries can be prevented, of course. But there are some pretty easy ways to stop painful and serious injuries in the construction industry, which has more than its fair share of job-related injuries.

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After suffering from pain for weeks or months after an injury from a car or a work-related accident, many people look forward to the relief from pain that back surgery will provide. Being able to return to normal, everyday activities, such as lifting a box, driving a car, or sitting or standing for long periods of time, without pain is the goal of most back surgery.

However, many people are surprised that post-surgery, the pain doesn’t subside as quickly as they would like and that the return back to normal life doesn’t happen automatically.

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In our last installment of the Deuterman Law Group's Back Health blog series, we highlighted some of the commonsurgeries for treating back injuries. Those included laminectomy, discectomy and IDET.

Today, we take up where we left off with a discussion of other surgical treatments for back pain, namely spinal fusion, artifical disc replacement and radio frequency ablation.

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While many back injuries can be treated with rest, physical therapy and/or anti-inflammatory medication, some injuries are best treated with back surgery.

The prospect of back surgery can be frightening and confusing, to be sure. Surgery and other treatments may involve risks and complications and require extended recovery time. In this installment of the Deuterman Law Group’s Back Health blog, we hope to alleviate some of those concerns by explaining what happens in the various back surgery procedures.

If you’re wondering what you’ll experience during and after your surgery, be sure to educate yourself by talking with your doctor, ask lots of questions and consult other resources, such as the Web sites we refer to in this blog entry.

Remember, thousands of people undergo back surgery each year, and advancements in the field of back health now provide a range of treatment options including inpatient surgery and outpatient procedures.

We’ll explain a few here:
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They've been called Crackberries and for good reason.

People who own BlackBerry devices can't seem to put them down. They're constantly typing and texting friends, family, the office. But handy devices such as the BlackBerry, Sidekicks, and Treos that make our hectic lives more manageable are wreaking havoc on our thumbs.

 

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Oh my aching back!

I don’t know a single person who hasn’t uttered that phrase at some point in life.

So you know that a back injury can be extremely painful. It can happen – snap your fingers – just like that. And when you injure your back, it can stop you in your tracks – prevent you from working, limit your movements, make sleep difficult, make walking difficult, make surviving daily life difficult.

In the first installment of the Deuterman Law Group’s Back Health series, we talked about the anatomy of the spine and the types of pain you might experience as the result of a back injury.

Today, we’re focusing on the most common types of back injuries -- sprains, soft-tissue injuries, bulging discs and herniated discs – and the typical course of treatment for each.

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Many people throughout their lives will suffer from back pain, resulting from a variety of causes and injuries.

Understanding the medical terminology doctors use in diagnosing and treating the causes of back pain can be confusing. While its always your right to ask your doctor for clarification, some patients may not feel comfortable asking a busy physician to take more time to explain things in simpler terms.

This series of blogs, entitled Back Health, is designed for injured people seeking more information about common back injuries, including symptoms and treatments. And we've attempted to explain things in simple terms, so you won't need a medical degree to understand what's going on with your back.

Read on for the first installment in our Back Health Series. This one focuses on the anatomy of the spine.

Please remember, this information is for educational purposes only. If you are suffering from back pain, please consult a doctor. Do not try to treat yourself.

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Associated Press reporter Andrew Welsh-Huggins writes about his experiences with a back injury and his successful -- though lengthy -- recovery.

It's an interesting article that shows just how debilitating back injuries can be. The writer, a distance runner, outlines his long recovery and also highlights some of the realities of back injuries:

• The most common type of pain reported by adults in the United States, with more than one in four reporting some back pain lasting at least a day in the past three months. Eight of every 10 people in the United States will suffer from lower back pain at one point in their lives.
• The most common reason injured workers file for workers’ compensation claims, accounting for about one in every five U.S. claims for workers’ compensation.
• The leading cause of disability in the United States military.
• The leading cause of disability in people under age 45 and the third-leading cause in people older than that, after cancer and heart problems. One study found that two of every three people aged 20 to 60 reported some type of spinal pain in a given year.
• The leading cause of missed work time or doctor’s visits after headaches and cold symptoms.

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Found a useful article in the MayoClinic.com site called "Back pain at work: Strategies to prevent aches, pains and injuries". The page also has links to other related back pain topics that may be of use.

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Kids' Chance first came to be in 1988 because of the initiative taken by the Workers' Compensation section of the Georgia Bar. Jeff Kight one of the earliest recipients, who is now an attorney, talks to radio host Attorney Alan Pierce on Workers Comp Matters about how Kids' Chance helped him attend college.

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Like us, you know how deeply family members can be affected by a workplace injuries, both financially and emotionally. The impact of such injuries is long lasting. A family's struggles and challenges don't disappear once we obtain a verdict or a settlement or payment of their medical expenses.

They persist.

But at least there's help out there from groups like Kids' Chance of North Carolina, a scholarship program meant to help the children who become unwitting casualties of workplace injuries.

Kids' Chance of North Carolina scholarships are available to any student between the ages 16 and 25 whose parent's on-the-job injury or death resulted in a substantial decline in family income.

Scholarships in the amount of $4,500 annually may be used to pay for high school, technical school or college tuition, books, housing, meals or transportation. Another goal of Kids' Chance is to prevent students from dropping out of school. So scholarship recipients may also use the money to contribute to the family income.

For more information about Kids' Chance of North Carolina, visit www.kidschancenc.org. Scholarship applications are available from Deuterman Law Group by calling 373-1130 or online at www.deutermanlaw.com.

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Check out Lorraine Ahearn's column from Sunday's News & Record about Kids' Chance of North Carolina.

The organization, which Deuterman Law Group supports financially and in other ways, provides scholarships to high school and college students who had a parent killed or catastrophically injured on the job.

Next month, we'll begin selling cookbooks to benefit Kids' Chance at our offices. They're just $10.

And if you know of a student who might be eligible for a scholarship, we have applications. Just visit our Web site or email our PR person at amyjoyn@bellsouth.net and she'll send you the details.

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One of our paralegals recently found this wonderful resource for our clients, Angel Food Ministries. This is a program that is sponsored by the federal government and many local churches in our area. The basic concept is there is a monthly menu that consists of many items such as meat, pasta, veggies, eggs, and so on. The price for the items is $25.00. It is a wonderful deal for the amount of food that is included. You can also purchase additional specials as well. Food stamps and cash are accepted. The $25 worth of food should feed a family of 4 for one week or a senior citizen for one month.

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