Many Illinois workers suffer injuries to their back or neck that result in herniated discs. Herniated discs are fairly common injuries that can cause significant pain that at times can travel down the arms or legs. There are a variety of different treatment methods for herniated discs:
Conservative Care - Physical therapy and/or chiropractic treatment may be used to encourage the disc to heal naturally. A majority of herniated discs can be healed this way, with results coming in just a few weeks or months.
Injections - Epidural steroid injections are often used to alleviate the pain associated with herniated discs, although they do not actually treat the disc itself.
Surgery - If conservative treatment fails, or if the herniation is severe, surgery may be required. There are many different types of surgery that could be necessary depending on the nature of the injury.
However, diagnosis of herniated discs and the treatment they require can be disputed issues between doctors. Different doctors may read MRIs to indicate different things, and sometimes what one doctor thinks is a herniation, another may simply call a "bulge" or a "back sprain or strain". Furthermore, doctors may differ in their opinions of whether the herniation is severe enough to warrant injections, surgery, or other treatment options above and beyond conservative care.
If you are injured at work and your doctor believes any specific type of treatment is necessary to resolve your pain, a workers' compensation attorney can fight to make sure that you receive it. You are entitled to receive all reasonable and necessary medical care for you work injury, as well as compensation for any time you are forced to miss from work while the injury heals. Just as herniated discs are common injuries among workers, they are common cases for workers' compensation attorneys to handle, and their experience in dealing with the differing opinions of doctors makes them an important ally to have on your side when fighting to get the treatment and benefits you deserve.
