neck / shoulder pain for Operating Room Employees
March 4, 2019 12:00 PM Subscribe
Hello! I am looking for resources for prevention and treatment of stiff/sore neck/shoulders for employees working in an Operating room. My wife is a surgical nurse, usually handing tools or entering data in surgery. I'd love to find her help on this issue.
She says she commonly has to push, pull, hold, and twist in uncomfortable positions. She often has to stand and look almost straight down, or stand and look far to the right without turning her body.
It is very hard to find resources for this issue, because typically when searching for "neck pain surgery" or "neck pain hospital" it is about if you should get surgery, not for the employees. "Neck pain nursing" usually has to do with floor nurses and not surgery nurses.
Despite the back surgeons in the building, they don't have an occupational therapist for the employees.
She has had a stiff neck for a while and has developed shoulder pains and neck pains. The majority of her pain is in her rhomboid minor, which often feels like a "knot" on her back.
Questions:
1. Do you know of any specific resources to prevention/treatment of people working in an operating room?
2. Do you know of any specific exercises that help rhomboid minor pain?
3. Will "strengthening" the muscle (say, through push ups) help the issue?
4. If we were to seek a professional, would you recommend a chiropractor, physical therapist, occupational therapist, or what?
Thanks so much!
She says she commonly has to push, pull, hold, and twist in uncomfortable positions. She often has to stand and look almost straight down, or stand and look far to the right without turning her body.
It is very hard to find resources for this issue, because typically when searching for "neck pain surgery" or "neck pain hospital" it is about if you should get surgery, not for the employees. "Neck pain nursing" usually has to do with floor nurses and not surgery nurses.
Despite the back surgeons in the building, they don't have an occupational therapist for the employees.
She has had a stiff neck for a while and has developed shoulder pains and neck pains. The majority of her pain is in her rhomboid minor, which often feels like a "knot" on her back.
Questions:
1. Do you know of any specific resources to prevention/treatment of people working in an operating room?
2. Do you know of any specific exercises that help rhomboid minor pain?
3. Will "strengthening" the muscle (say, through push ups) help the issue?
4. If we were to seek a professional, would you recommend a chiropractor, physical therapist, occupational therapist, or what?
Thanks so much!
I work in an operating room; based on my experience the data entry part of her job may very well be a major culprit. Many of the desks and chairs where we have computers were poorly designed, or not designed at all for sitting and typing. She may want to reach out to employer to provide better stations to work at; there may not be a lot they can do because of restrictions on space and the amount and type of furniture allowed in the OR, but at the very least they should be able to provide a comfortable chair. Would recommend a physical or occupational therapist, especially one that knows about ergonomics for evaluation; it should be covered by workman's comp in the US, but of course that is highly variable.
posted by TedW at 1:40 PM on March 4, 2019
posted by TedW at 1:40 PM on March 4, 2019
This isn’t operating room specific, but I’ve found this 5-minute yoga stretch to be incredibly helpful for my own neck and shoulder pain. No promises, but it doesn’t cost much to try.
posted by tinymegalo at 2:18 PM on March 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by tinymegalo at 2:18 PM on March 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
Hi, I am not a nurse of any sort, but I have chronic shoulder and neck pain, used to work in healthcare, and I'm in the US.
I'd suggest following the process to get physical therapy covered by worker's comp - probably she will have to be referred by a primary care physician, her workplace may have a specific process for getting treatment for worker's comp claims. A physical therapist will tailor a routine to her - she may be experiencing referred pain that is somewhat tricky to diagnose (e.g. pinched nerve in neck radiating pain down arm) and getting personalized help will avoid making her injury worse.
Her employer likely has someone who can come in and do an ergonomics consult for her as well.
posted by momus_window at 3:16 PM on March 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
I'd suggest following the process to get physical therapy covered by worker's comp - probably she will have to be referred by a primary care physician, her workplace may have a specific process for getting treatment for worker's comp claims. A physical therapist will tailor a routine to her - she may be experiencing referred pain that is somewhat tricky to diagnose (e.g. pinched nerve in neck radiating pain down arm) and getting personalized help will avoid making her injury worse.
Her employer likely has someone who can come in and do an ergonomics consult for her as well.
posted by momus_window at 3:16 PM on March 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
Former OR nurse here. I’d reach out to her employer’s occupational health department. Even if they don’t have a physio on site, they should be able to refer to someone for eval and treatment. My hospital sent someone in to do ergonomics and moving and handling training when several of our staff developed neck/back/shoulder problems. There are also lift teams available to help move patients, especially those with high BMI or other issues that make them hard to transfer. Occhealth has an interest in doing this as they don’t want to end up with worker’s comp claims.
Also seconding TedW—the computer and equipment fiddling also likely contributes. Sometimes you can’t get around having to bend to adjust monitors, open drawers, etc., but can request adjustable-height computer stations, stools, etc. Again, the hospital should have someone available to evaluate. Your wife may also want to speak with her manager to organize something and/or push for an eval, as its likely that other members of the team are having the same issues.
Also, general strengthening and stretching, either at home or as part of a work routine, may help. PT/occ health should be able to help with this, too. Good luck and take care.
posted by stillmoving at 7:40 PM on March 4, 2019
Also seconding TedW—the computer and equipment fiddling also likely contributes. Sometimes you can’t get around having to bend to adjust monitors, open drawers, etc., but can request adjustable-height computer stations, stools, etc. Again, the hospital should have someone available to evaluate. Your wife may also want to speak with her manager to organize something and/or push for an eval, as its likely that other members of the team are having the same issues.
Also, general strengthening and stretching, either at home or as part of a work routine, may help. PT/occ health should be able to help with this, too. Good luck and take care.
posted by stillmoving at 7:40 PM on March 4, 2019
hate saying this to US folks but part of occy Health here in the NHS has free massage sessions in paid work time for people in this situation (at 2/5 Trusts in my anecdata), it very much is in the employers interest to get sick rates down. are there nearby providers who do this as part of their retention strategy?
posted by Wilder at 8:23 AM on March 5, 2019
posted by Wilder at 8:23 AM on March 5, 2019
Response by poster: Workers comp doesn't usually pay out for things like this apparently. She's going to do some stretches I guess and see if that helps with no other changes. Too bad.
posted by bbqturtle at 1:46 PM on March 6, 2019
posted by bbqturtle at 1:46 PM on March 6, 2019
« Older Phoenix, AZ Wedding Venue on the CHEAP | PDX company to customize & support software... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Vortisaur at 12:22 PM on March 4, 2019 [1 favorite]