To be feeling a bit down about this

[tallulahturtle]

I hurt ny neck at work the other day and yesterday the pain got worse so booked an appointment with my Dr today, my employer told me to take today off and rest it and let them know what the Dr said.

The dr examins my neck and says my "trapezius is in spasm and it is an injury that has been building a long time " she asks what work i do and i say its very physical and involves lifting 16-25kg on a very frequent basis as well as driving and she says "ill be honest with you , physio is what is needed but with the NHS it wont be quick enough this needs dealing with asap so after you get out here I want you to speak to your employer and say you need physio and ask them what they are going to do about it".

So i phone my regional manager and say what the doctor said and she said "we cant provide medical treatment that is the Job of your dr and the nhs " .

I am going to phone the doctor and try get referred for physio , as thats all i can do im just feeling very meh about it all as im not a trouble maker at work, i have never had a day off sick before my neck is so painful but i still feel guilty im not at work and feel like im going to be labelled a troublemaker already for just repeating what the dr said and how defensive my employer got. Saying i could have injured myself doing non work related things especially as it was a build up sort of injury rather than something suddenly getting injured.

I hate feeling like this and to top it all im about to have 5 days holiday that was pre planned and i will feel guilty for the duration of it on top of not being able to do what i planned as i have to rest my neck.

Just dont really know what to do , could pay for physio myself but i dont have much money but am concerned that the injury may get worse if not tackled immediately.

Did you ask the doctor to sign you off sick?

The logical thing seems to be to stop working until the condition is under control, given that your work is what has caused it and is making it worse.

If your work would rather let you stay at home until the NHS physio can treat you than pay for you to see a private physio, or occupational therapist, I guess that is their decision to make

Funny I always thought there was an NHS that people paid into. I would be fucking furious

She hasnt signed me off exactly (or at least i dont think she has) she did say that im not allowed to drive until i can turn my head properly (i can barely turn it at the moment) and i am a delivery driver so no driving means no work.

The unfortunate thing is i am about to use some holiday days so because i am not due to be at work for the next 5 days anyway there was no need to sign me off. Im guessing that if i cant return
to work on wednesday when im due to be back after holiday then the doctor will have to sign me off and give me a note. Im not exactly sure how it all works.

I have just phoned the doctors to ask for a referral for nhs physio as my employer essentially told me where to go and her sigh was evident!

I'm just wondering what planet your doctor is on! Personally is be wanting to see another doctor after her bizarre 'advice', more so now she's obviously reluctant to refer you. Pretty odd all round.

I am pretty confused all round at the moment . I dont know what is normal for an injury caused by your job, so far everyone offline who i have spoken to is of the opinion that i should threaten to sue for a workplace injury.
I dont want to be taken advantage of but also im not one to go in all guns blazing , especially when i have no idea if peoples employers actually pay for stuff like this.

Make sure that the incident when you hurt your neck is logged in the accident book at work. Should the injury worsen, you may need evidence of when it occurred. (It is a legal requirement for your employer to provide such a book - or a form - to record all workplace accidents).

Are you in a union? If so, contact them, as they will help with legal costs (if necessary - I hope that it doesn't come to that...). You may also find that your home insurance covers you for some legal costs (e.g. consulting a personal injuries lawyer).

If you can manage it, you may find that paying for one or two private physio appointments can help by providing you with exercises that you can then do every day to help your recovery - this will at least stop you getting any worse before you can see a NHS physio. (Voice of bitter experience speaking - best money that I ever spent..!)

Good luck..!

Physio referrals take 6-8 weeks where I work. Maybe the GP was hoping the employer would pay for some of it. Maybe they were hoping your work would offer you some alternative duties. If you do need to go off sick I would probably write "work related neck injury" on the sick line. Makes them take notice.

The doctor can sigh and huff and puff all she wants, but if she thinks you need physio, she needs to refer you...

In the meantime, you need to go back and say you need her to sign you off saying you can't drive. You can then present that to your boss, and they have the option of finding you work that doesn't involve driving if they want (sick notes changed a few years ago).

Your company will then have to weigh up having you off until you get the referral and treatment, or trying to help you out through occupational health, but either way, you shouldn't lose out.

Has your employer given you a manual handling course? I've one next week and the amount of lifting is minimal.

I'm surprised your GP asked that your employer would pay for physio. It's possible mine would, but only because they provide medical insurance, and I have to pay tax on that (have not to date used it).

Here, we can self-refer for physio on the NHS, and would probably get an appointment within a week or two.

if you are signed off sick then you are able to take the leave at a later date. check this out at work as if you are off sick you are not on leave.

I had physio a few years ago, privately. It costed about £25-30 then. Any chance you can fund it yourself and keep all receipts, accident records etc until you can sort out what to do?

Yeah i think i will fund a few appointments myself to get the problem looked at by a professional and to get treatment asap to stop the injury worsening then i can still fight it out with my employer to get them to support me a bit financially.

I think because my neck didnt suddenly go in a dramatic manner at work (pain started mildly at work and then woke up next morning with much more pain) and it was more of a cumulative injury my employer are making out that it is not work related .

Ill find a good physio in the morning (high wycombe) area if anyone has any recommendations !

OP I have private physio fairly regularly and you can reckon about 30 quid for a session, but you might be surprised at how quickly the sessions help.

Also, look up whether there is a local university or higher ed college that does physiotherapy as one of its degrees, as these places sometimes run cheap clinics where you get practised on by a student - under supervision of course! I work at a uni which does this and it is about 10 pounds for a session there.

Where in the country are you, because if you are near to me I will pm you details of that clinic if you like.

Oh just seen High Wycombe, nowhere near me, sorry!

Thats a bargain!

Im in the south east in Bucks ,(high wycombe).

Ah bugger, ah well no worries :) may be able to find a college or uni round here that doea similar.

do you get your training every year with your company (or have they trained you in lifting)?.. they generally go on that you're shown how to lift parcels so they can't be blamed for this kind of thing.

I hate neck injurys.. I hope you're on the mend soon, they're so bloody painful :(

I've been suffering from a bad back. Went to G.P's and she gave me a leaflet for self-referral to the physiotherapy department at the hospital. Phoned and was given an appointment for 2 days later.

I've subsequently been told that most local health authorities should offer the same service to their patients. If the GP did the referral, then the letter went to the physiotherapy department, then intova pile of other letters etc, then I can understand it would take a while, but the self-referral system works well.

O.P., are you sure there's nothing like that local to you?

I can certainly check if self referral is an option.

I was shown how to lift when i first started but i always lift properly. I think the damage is done to my body with the quantity of what i deliver.

I deliver wine which typically weighs 8-10 kgs a box of 6. Not loads of weight but when i deliver to some of my pubs it can be a hell of a lot of boxes and its often delivering down steep cellar steps which can be quite a strain.

I work on average 50 hours a week (66 in december) doing all this lifting so im amazed it has taken this long for my body to say no.

The worse deliveries are any involving water in glass bottles , always curse the wedding couples who demand glass bottles of water usually to be delivered to a marquee miles from when you can park the van and inaccessible to a trolly so must be carried in :-/.
I know it is my choice to do a physical job (the doctor also said i need to find another job) and i enjoy my work I'm just feeling sorry for myself and pathetic as im injured :-( .