I was working in IT, and I was a senior analyst programmer, and I was doing typing one day, and I just felt some sort of tiredness in my right forearm. And then it became a burning sensation. And I went to a physiotherapist to get some treatment, which I did get. And but each time I'd go back to typing, even just one line would produce the burning sensation and eventually I just really used my left hand to do typing, and a few years later, then the left hand had the same problem and that's when I had to get it fully investigated and that was the start of a long story.
Well initially I was put on to alternative duties, but then when I had a second flare up, I ended up changing occupation, to a less well-paid occupation. Also, because it wasn't treated properly initially, I ended up with a chronic pain condition.
I was playing low level competition tennis, couldn't continue to do that. It also has been an enormous amount of effort and time to improve, to be able to get back to an IT role. And put a lot of stress on family members as well. So how that’s how it's affected me.
If a person has, even if it's a niggle or a minor soreness, see a GP, get referred to the appropriate medical person. If you're not happy with the response you're getting, then seek a second opinion. And when you do get treatment, ask questions like how long will it be before I get better? And questions like, are there any other treatments that I could be undergoing? And are they complimentary to the treatment that they're currently getting? Also to understand by the bio psychosocial model. So, the recovery time is not just dependent on your biology, but also on your social situation, how much support you have, financial situation, but also your psychological situation.
Initially I thought there was no learning to be taken from my situation compared with a worker who has died at work. But then I realized that there were some learnings, especially around any sort of soreness or niggle or discomfort being fully investigated. The wider community should understand that it's not the fault of the worker. It's a no-fault system. It's not the fault of the worker, therefore, that they're injured and should be more supportive of injured workers and employers should be more inclusive of injured workers. Get them back into the workplace as often as quickly as they can and keep up communication with them so that the injured worker will recover more quickly.
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