Overuse and injury may cause some major issues with your body when you have a physical job or one that is repetitive in nature. One of those injuries could be intersection syndrome.
This syndrome is typically diagnosed due to overuse or physical activities that require large amounts of forearm use. Some common physical actions that can cause the syndrome include raking and shoveling. The symptoms include pain and swelling in the forearm on the side closest to your thumb. The pain may radiate from your forearm to your wrist. The pain is caused where two muscles cross above your wrist and connect to your thumb. The overworking of these muscles and stress on the tendons can cause your forearm to pop or squeak as well.
Any of these symptoms should be addressed immediately with a doctor, and a workers compensation case should be filed to make sure those medical bills are taken care of. Doctors will be able to diagnose the syndrome typically with just a physical examination and no other tests needed. That said, it is occasionally misdiagnosed as carpal tunnel or Dequervain’s Tenosynovitis.
Recovery can be time consuming though. The most common form of treatment is to stop the activity completely and allow the muscles time to heal. If that is not possible, taping of the arm may help to mobilize the muscles. If the symptoms persist, your doctor may recommend a cortisone shot to help with the inflammation and pain, and in extreme situations, surgery may even be required to remove some of the tissues to release the pressure.
Anytime you are injured because of a repetitive motion at your job, your medical care of that injury will be covered by workers compensation. It’s important to have an attorney in your corner who understands this unique injury and how it can impact you not just in the short term, but in the long term. You can bet that if you are diagnosed with intersection syndrome that the insurance company will try to look in to all of your off work activities and see if they can blame it on that.
We are an Illinois wide network of workers’ compensation attorneys. If you’d like a free consultation to discuss your case, call us at (312) 346-5578 or fill out our contact form at the right of the page. We are tough, experienced, honest and fight for the people we represent.
