New Jersey requires employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance to ensure injured workers get the care needed after a qualified work injury. It is important to note that not all on-the-job injuries happen due to a traumatic accident.
When the elements critical to performing a job require repeated movements of one or more body parts, the tissues in those areas may wear down over time, causing damage. These repetitive motion injuries may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits.
What causes repetitive injuries at work?
Workers in a field that requires prolonged use of tools, such as those in the construction industry, may deal with nagging aches and pains in the extremities. Professional settings are also conducive to repeated motions. Those who use type for extended periods of a day may develop pain in the arms and hands. Assembly line workers in warehouses and factories are also prone to damage overuse may cause.
What is carpal tunnel syndrome?
The most common repetitive motion injury is to the hands and wrists. Carpal tunnel syndrome results from inflamed tissue in the wrist pushing in on the median nerve. The result is numbness and tingling in the hands that morph into pain and reduced capacity over time.
What is bursitis?
Fluid sacs cushion joints to ensure they move in concert with ligaments, tendons and muscles. When these bursae sacs become aggravated by repeated movements, they swell and impede movement causing pain. A worker who feels constant pain in the hip, shoulder or elbow may get a bursitis diagnosis.
Continuing to work through pain may cause further damage. A doctor can diagnose a work-related repetitive stress injury so the employee can get the workers’ compensation process moving.