Getting Workers Back To the Workplace After Upper Extremity Injuries

There have been many more work relatedupper extremity injuries and pain  in the last number of years compared to the previous years especially when the employee returns to the workplace after an injury.

There are many reasons that this occurs. Amongst them are physical capabilities, risks of the job, psychological readiness to continue working, worker traits and the ability to manage their symptoms.

It is suggested that  there be a comprehensive program which targets these factors so as to minimize the problem.

A study was conducted using two groups of people that had common traits i.e. physical conditioning, work related pain and stress management issues, work conditioning and vocational counseling or placement. The purpose of the study was to  investigate the long term outcome of a rehabilitation program. Both groups had equal measures of disability, fear of being injured again, severity of pain, psychological distress, age and education. The groups were exposed to either the comprehensive work rehabilitation intervention or just usual care. Their status was evaluated about 17 months after treatment for the study group and 18 months for the control group.

The results were that more of the study group members (74%) returned to work or were getting vocational training versus 40% of those in the control group. In addition 91% of the study group returned to full time work versus 50% of the control group. The reentry rate was not, however, as high as other approaches with low back pain employees. This suggests that the treatment program needs some modification. Perhaps  there should be a remedy found for reducing repetitiveness, awkward posture, force, rest cycles and other stress related aspects of the job.

Another suggestion is to find ways to improve flexibility and strength of the upper extremities and ways to reduce pain and stress. Such training may contribute to a more successful rate of return to work.

A physical therapy solution could also be used to strengthen upper extremity limbs. One such product is the ARMTUTOR. Originally developed to provide intensive exercise s to patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease symptoms, spinal cord injuries, Cerebral Palsy and other limb disabling illnesses, the ARMTUTOR can also be used as a preventative device to strengthen upper limb muscles so that workers will gain more ability to conduct their duties.

The ARMTUTOR consists of a safe comfortable elbow brace with position and speed sensors that precisely record three dimensional shoulder and elbow movements. The ARMTUTOR has a range of motion limiter that limits the dynamic range of elbow extension and flexion and facilitates treatment of the upper extremity including isolated and combined shoulder and elbow movements.

The ARMTUTOR and its sister products (HANDTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR) are currently in use in leading U.S. and European hospitals and rehabilitation clinics. They are also available for use in the home through telerehabilitation and are certified by the FDA and CE..

See WWW.MEDITOUCH.CO.IL for further information.