The Dangers of Ignoring a Workplace Injury

If you have a workplace injury, your first thought might be to try to ignore it and move on. You may think it’s not that bad or you might not want to miss work or risk causing any issues with your boss or your company. However, workplace injuries can be very serious and, therefore, it’s important to know when to report a workplace injury and why you should take these situations seriously.

What Constitutes as a Workplace Injury?

A workplace injury is one that happens while you are at work. This means it happens on company property or while you are on company business. Generally speaking, if your injury was sustained as a part of the scope of your employment and it requires medical care or time away from work, this is a workplace injury.

Each injury is different, and the circumstances will likely be unique to you and your situation. However, one thing that is common with nearly every workplace injury is that they should not be ignored.

The Injury can get Worse

As mentioned, what qualifies as a workplace injury can sometimes be a bit difficult to determine, but it is important to remember how crucial it is to pay attention to the injury when it happens. If you have hurt yourself at work, and you continue to do the things that resulted in the injury in the first place, there’s a very good chance that you will aggravate the injury and make it worse. This can happen even if you stop doing what caused the injury, but don’t seek treatment.

If your injury worsens, you could complicate your recovery process. For instance, an injury that could have healed with rest and massage therapy may require significant physiotherapy if it’s not treated right away. You may even put yourself in a situation where you require surgery.

Untreated injuries can also lead to other injuries. If you are injured and your body tries to compensate by moving differently, you could cause a second injury and this could drastically change your recovery time.

Permanent Consequences

Not only can an injury get worse if you ignore it, but it could turn from a problem that can heal and be resolved to one with permanent consequences. For instance, if you do not treat certain soft tissue injuries, the tissue could atrophy over time and that will make it very difficult to restore full range or motion or stability to the area. Untreated fractures can heal incorrectly, causing instability and negatively affect your mobility.

While you may not want to treat an injury now because you’re busy or you don’t want to miss time at work, not treating it can be even worse. If your situation becomes permanent, you might no longer be able to do the work you once did. This could leave you out of a job or unable to pursue your passions. That can affect every aspect of your life. An injury that started at work could end up making it difficult for you to complete day-to-day activities and that can serious harm your quality of life.

Someone Else Could get Hurt

If you’re injured at work, either due to the conditions, the equipment, or the nature of the job, and you don’t say anything about your situation, nothing will change. Your coworkers and management won’t be aware of the potential issue and, therefore, they won’t try to improve the situation to avoid injury. This means someone else could get hurt.

If you let the right people know about your situation, they can act and that could prevent future injuries.

If you’ve been injured, Delta Physiotherapy and Rehab can help. We focus on comprehensive strategies that use many techniques to help ease pain, restore range of motion, and recover from injury. Call us at (905) 822-9898 or contact us online to get more information on or to book an appointment.