Avoiding Work-Related Knee Injuries: MN Work Comp.

Knee injuries are one of the most common work-related injuries we see in our Minnesota workers’ compensation practice. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, knee injuries send nearly 15 million Americans to the doctor every year.

From WebMD, here are six things you can do to avoid serious injuries to your knees:

1. Don’t ignore knee pain. In general, if your knee pain limits your ability to engage in your normal activities, it’s time to get it checked out. A minor knee injury can turn into a major knee injury without medical care.
2. Lose weight. Extra weight puts extra strain on your knees. Obesity increases your risk for osteoarthritis, a common and debilitating form of arthritis, and extra weight can cause existing arthritis to worsen more rapidly.
3. Follow through with rest and rehabilitation. Properly rehabilitating your knee after an injury is important to avoiding aggravations or re-injuries. Folks often go back to full-duty work before their knee injuries are fully healed, leading to a subsequent re-injuries that are usually worse.
4. Take care of your ACL. Injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) account for about 150,000 knee injuries each year.
5. Don’t overdo it. Knees are also susceptible to overuse and repetitive use injury. Kneecap pain and tendinitis are common symptoms of knee overuse injuries.
6. Take care of other muscles in your legs, hips, and pelvis. When the muscles around the kneecap, hip, and pelvis are strong, it keeps the knee stable and balanced, providing support by absorbing some of the stress exerted on the joint.
   

Knee injuries can be debilitating, resulting in surgery and medical expenses, lost time from work, and permanent impairment. If you’ve sustained a work-related knee injury in Minnesota, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, including reasonable and necessary medical care, wage loss benefits, permanency benefits, and rehabilitation services.

Work-related knee injuries can be devastating. Contact Meuser & Associates, P.A., at 877- 746-5680 or click here to send us an email to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation to learn about your Minnesota workers’ compensation rights.

Visit our workers' compensation website at MeuserLaw.com!