Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialist*
AS AUTHORIZED BY THE PA SUPREME COURT

Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialist*
AS AUTHORIZED BY THE PA SUPREME COURT

Recognizing a work-related lower back injury

Many Pennsylvania workers go home at the end of the workday feeling as though they could not move another inch. By the next morning, many of them will feel better since they got some rest and may assume they were just tired. Then they go back to work and repeat the process. What at first may seem like just an annoyance could quickly become a serious work-related lower back injury.

Anyone from a truck driver to a construction worker to an officer worker can suffer serious lower back pain as they go through their workdays. Not all back injuries happen in a sudden and violent accident. In fact, most develop slowly over time. In both cases, the pain is very real even when no outer signs of injury can be seen.

The pain may become worse as an individual performs his or her work duties. Motions such as extending, bending and twisting can wreak havoc on a person’s lower back over time as nerves, ligaments and muscles suffer damage a little at a time. And back pain may just be the start of things. This type of pain tends to radiate through the back, into the buttocks and even down the legs.

If a work-related lower back injury goes unchecked long enough, it could result in a chronic condition that will ultimately make it nearly impossible to work or even enjoy normal activities. Even walking could become a challenge due to the pain. Workers’ compensation benefits could provide an avenue for receiving much-needed treatment, along with other benefits to help in recovery and more.