Is your work-related back pain a cause for concern?

As someone who works in the Texas oil drilling industry, you likely find your job fast-paced and exciting. You may enjoy the feeling of tiredness after a hard day’s work, and you may also feel a sense of pride in the work that you accomplish. Though your job may seem fulfilling, you likely understand that it also poses considerable safety risks.

Even if you, your co-workers and your employer take the necessary safety precautions, you could still find yourself involved in work-related accident. For instance, if you slipped and fell due to a hazard in your work area or tried to lift a heavy load on your own, you could easily suffer a serious back injury.

Experiencing back pain

In many cases, after suffering a back injury, you may experience immediate pain. In other instances, the pain may not appear until days or weeks after an incident. Depending on the physical cause of the pain, times may vary. Some causes of pain include:

• Sprains
• Fractures
• Disk degeneration
• Ruptured disks
• Muscle spasms
• Tense muscles

These issues can result from overworking your muscles, falling and fracturing the bones in your back, or many other scenarios that could arise in your line of employment.

Seeking medical attention

After a work-related accident, you may not immediately feel pain or the pain may seem manageable. However, you could potentially need medical attention. If you have concerns, seeing a doctor may help determine the severity of your back injury. You may especially want to seek attention if you experience any of the following:

• Numbness
• Tingling
• Pain that does not get better with rest
• Pain in addition to weakness, fever, weight loss or trouble urinating

If you feel any type of pain after a fall or other incident on the job, you should always seek medical care. Proper and timely diagnoses for any injuries can help ensure that you receive necessary treatment.

Workers’ compensation

A serious back injury could have substantial impacts on your life. You may even need to take time away from work or find that you cannot return to your previous position due to the effects the back injury has presented. As a result, you may have growing concerns about your financial affairs when it comes to dealing with medical expenses and lost wages.

Luckily, if your injury occurred while on the job, you may qualify for workers’ compensation. These benefits could help fill financial gaps left after a work-related accident left you injured.