Getting Back to Work After an Injury
Nobody likes to miss work because of injury, and the sooner you return the better. Whether injured at work or at home, you’ll need a medical team that can focus on all aspects of the recovery process to get you back to work both at complete strength and quickly. These services can include chiropractic medicine, orthopedics, surgery, pain management, work conditioning and other pain and injury services.
Returning People to Work
For many years, medical practices treated people injured at work for the injury but did little else to help them return to the job. At La Clinica SC, our services for the injured worker have evolved and we put an emphasis on what is important to you. Our clinics address your desire to return to work. With the demands of your job in mind, our doctors will create an occupational therapy program so you can return to work quickly and without concern for your safety.
Workers Compensation and Personal Injury Claims
Due to the economic burden that results when people are out of work, workers compensation and personal injury claims have received a tremendous amount of attention. The right to choose your own doctor can be a problem with employers’ Preferred Providers Program, also known as “the company doctor” program that may be in force at your place of employment. Our staff can even help explain provide guidance for your workers compensation claims by referring you to one of the many legal advisers we work with.
With Worker Injuries, You Need an Advocate in the Health System
“Company doctors” may not be your best advocates in the health system. They work for your employer. The PPPs can diminish your basic right to choose the physician or specialist you want to see about a work-related injury. If your employer insists you see a “company doctor,” you have the right to decline to join a PPP. This allows you to choose the doctor you want and the work rehabilitation program that works for you. When you visit a clinic that specializes in work-related injuries, the staff can share with you ways to learn about your rights to basic medical care from a provider of your choice. You also have a choice of occupational therapy.
Work Conditioning
Part of the process of returning to work can involve a work conditioning program. This worker rehabilitation effort is designed to get you back to work at close to 100 percent as medically possible. Have you ever heard of an athlete who must return to 100 percent efficiency before they can take the field again? That’s an example of an occupational therapy program and has the same goal in mind for you. It creates a therapy program that you follow taking your personal schedule into consideration. The work rehabilitation program can be two hours a day, for four to six weeks with professional supervision and frequent evaluations to monitor your progress; or it can be home exercises with weekly or bi-weekly visits to the clinic for evaluations.
If you were injured at work and have questions about your medical options or treatments, please contact La Clinica SC at (773) 763-2800 or book your free consultation online through our online form HERE.