Physical Wellness

Coming Back From a Back Injury

By Eric Hamilton | Update Date: Aug 19, 2020 04:03 PM EDT
Coming Back From a Back Injury

(Photo : Coming Back From a Back Injury)

Back injuries are one of the most painful things people can go through.  They ensure that nearly every movement, daily duty, or breath, can be as painful as possible.  Luckily, care and treatment can make them easier to cope with, but eventually, you'll have to go back to work.  If you work an office job, this is easier than most others for recovery, but can still leave you in horrible pain.  Here are the steps everyone should take to try and get back to work after an injury, while not inflicting worse pain or damage on yourself.

Consider A Job Change

Although this may be a more significant change than many are willing to consider, a job change can help you recover.  If you're working in construction, restaurant work, or some other job that keeps you active and has to lift and work your back a lot, this kind of work will hurt you further.  If you can, ask your employer if you can move to a different position in the company to keep working for them while maintaining your health.  Look for jobs that allow you to work sitting or standing, while not twisting or using your back more than necessary.

Pad Your Seating As You Need

Don't let your cruddy work chair make working harder.  Regardless of how much you want to work, slipped disc recovery time without surgery means that you need to be kind to how you sit.  Look online for a comfortable cushion you can put on your chair to help your back.  These only cost 15-40 dollars depending on the brand and will let you update any chair so that it becomes more comfortable, and you're more capable of working your job without stopping.  Ensure you also have back support so that you don't end up hunched over or leaning too far back.  Work to keep your back in an angle and position that your doctor would want it to be.

Make It Clear To Coworkers What You Need.

Don't let your supervisor or coworkers bowl you over with their needs or wants.  Show your boss that you're willing to get back to work, but that you can't risk your back or health for a job.  Make it clear that you still want to be a great employee.  Although money is vital to staying alive in the modern world, you won't be able to make any money if you're out on sick leave because your back is acting up again.

Be Patient

Nothing heals overnight.  Take slow and well thought out steps so that you back can recover fully and well.  If you rush into working too soon or doing work that could hurt you, you could make your injuries even more severe and possibly end up hospitalized.  Just because you can take pain meds to work through your symptoms doesn't necessarily mean that you should.  Do what you can to take care of your body and take your time to heal and move past your injuries and towards living the life you had before.

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* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of counselheal.com

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