Work Restrictions Due to Cervical Spine Injuries

Rehabilitating patients who have sustained cervical spine injuries requires more than just adjusting their medication and monitoring a home exercise program. Doctors usually place specific restrictions on the activity of patients returning to work, whether they have undergone surgery or not.

Job Descriptions

• Before doctors can recommend work restrictions, patients should provide clear job descriptions that identify physical requirements of the work.

Weight

• Doctors may impose weight restrictions for patients returning to work after cervical spine injury. For example, a nurse in Iowa was restricted to pushing, pulling or lifting less than 10 pounds.

Repetitive Stress

• Doctors also advise patients to discontinue or substantially limit repetitive movements, such as reaching, stretching and bending and especially repetitive movements with the neck.

Types of Work

• Workers are advised to avoid overhead and even ground-level work that requires them to extend their necks.

Body Position

• Specific return-to-work recommendations focus on the importance of proper body positions. Workers in front of computer stations are advised to sit with proper posture and to vary the length of time they remain seated.