Specialized Spine Care in Colorado Springs

Spinal Injuries at Work

Colorado Springs Orthopaedic Group

Spinal conditions can affect your neck, back, movement, and overall quality of life. Pain, stiffness, numbness, or weakness can make it difficult to work, exercise, sleep, or perform everyday activities.

CSOG provides comprehensive care for a wide range of conditions affecting the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine. Our specialists use a conservative-first approach whenever appropriate, with treatment options that may include physical therapy, medications, injections, and other nonsurgical treatments. When surgery is necessary, advanced surgical techniques may provide another option.

Your care begins with a thorough evaluation to understand the source of your symptoms and how they are affecting you. We then develop a treatment plan based on your condition, goals, and individual needs.

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Injuries at the workplace are very common and may be debilitating. Global statistics report that around 260 million non-fatal injuries occur every year around the world of which 350,000 cases may suffer death. Workplace injuries often occur because of high-risk jobs, lack of or scarcity in safety devices, lack of training, and higher numbers of manual workers.

Causes

Spinal injuries are the most common workplace injuries that may occur while operating heavy machines, lifting heavy objects, driving automobiles, or when you suffer a fall at the workplace.

Common spinal injuries you may suffer at the workplace include:

• Fractures
• Dislocation of adjacent bones
• Partial misalignment (subluxation) of adjacent bones
• Disc compression (herniated disc)
• Hematoma (accumulation of blood)
• Partial or complete tears of ligaments

Symptoms

The most common symptom of spinal injuries is pain. Some injuries may damage spinal nerves that may cause inflammation, loss of muscle control, and loss of sensation. It may result in paralysis, limited movement, and immobility. Workplace injuries are diagnosed using X-rays, computed tomography (CT) scans, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

Treatments

Depending on the type and severity of the injury, you may be treated with pain medications, epidural injections (injecting into spine), physiotherapy, and surgery. Surgery is recommended when other treatments are failure or inappropriate. Your spine surgeon may recommend rehabilitation that includes both physiotherapy and occupational therapy to promote complete and faster healing.