At Salem Health Orthopedics, hand surgeons work with patients facing a range of injuries. Some of those stem from incidents in the workplace.

Types of workplace injuries

“One of the most common that we see is a fingertip crush,” said hand surgeon Allison Mitchell, MD. “Crush injuries often involve labor or machinery. Usually, the cause is something heavy slamming down or the hands getting caught in machinery or another device. It’s usually from some type of heavy machine or table saw.”

The orthopedic surgeon also works with patients who fractured a wrist during a slip and fall or are recovering from an elbow fracture from a higher fall.

“A fall from a height would be people whose work require them to shelve items or if they’re in construction up on ladders,” said Dr. Mitchell.

As for office workers, they’re more likely to face the ongoing dull pain, tenderness or mild swelling of chronic tendinitis, tennis elbow or wrist tendonitis, Dr. Mitchell said.

Prevention and recovery

“If you feel like you’re developing tendonitis, stretch your forearm and wrist, and use things as ergonomically as you can,” she said.

To prevent more typical workplace injuries, Dr. Mitchell recommends investing in tools like a saw stop and the right shoes to prevent falls.

The hand surgeon encourages anyone facing pain from a workplace injury to seek out care.

“The longest recovery is the tendinitis, that requires a lot of physical therapy,” said Dr. Mitchell. “A bad elbow injury after a fall from a height can be months to a year. Small fingertip injuries often take weeks to months to recover.”

Dr. Mitchell said patients work with both surgeons and physical therapists at Salem Health Orthopedics to get back on track.

“Usually, the most important thing with hand injuries is hand therapy,” she said. “That’s essential — doing the exercises every single day is the most important aspect of recovery.”

Care at Salem Health

Are you recovering from a hand injury? Salem Health Orthopedics has the largest group of surgeons in the mid-Willamette Valley specifically trained in treatment of hand and wrist conditions.

Click here to learn more about care with Salem Health Orthopedics.