Musculoskeletal injuries may result from a single event, but more commonly arise from cumulative exposure to one or more hazards over an extended period. Body stressing, is the most commonly reported mechanism of injury for serious WorkCover claims, arising from handling, lifting, carrying or putting down of objects; followed by slips, trips and falls.

​

More generally, symptoms experienced by individuals with a musculoskeletal injury, whether it is work-related or not, that can be managed by our physiotherapists include:

• local or generalised pain, aching or discomfort

• loss or hypersensitivity of sensation to touch, heat or pressure

• loss of muscle strength, endurance and/or flexibility

• loss of ability to perform controlled movements, postural or balance reactions; and/or

• physical changes to muscle tone or bulk (atrophy, hypertrophy etc.), skin colour and temperature, inflammation

• abnormal alignment of joints, loss of joint range of motion or stability

​

Traumatic joint/ligament and muscle/tendon injuries - usually acute events, that our physiotherapists can manage include:

• trauma to joints and ligaments (e.g. sprains, tears and dislocation)

• trauma to muscles and tendons (e.g. strains and tears), and

• soft tissue disorders due to trauma or unknown mechanisms.

​

Musculoskeletal and connective tissue diseases – gradual onset or cumulative disorders, that our physiotherapists can manage include:

• joint diseases (arthropathies) and other articular cartilage diseases (e.g. inflammatory or infectious arthritis, acquired musculoskeletal deformities)

• spinal vertebrae and intervertebral disc diseases – dorsopathies (e.g. back pain, sciatica, neck pain, disc degeneration)

• diseases involving the synovium and related tissue (e.g. synovitis, tenosynovitis)

• diseases of muscle, tendon and related tissue (e.g. non-traumatic muscle or tendon strain, tendinitis, epicondylitis), and

• other soft tissue diseases (e.g. bursitis, occupational overuse syndrome).