Lifting injuries are a major concern for much of today’s workforce. Although there are machines designed to assist workers with lifting heavy items, a person can still make a mistake during any stage of the process, resulting in a serious injury. Even with assistance, lifting can put a great amount of stress on the legs, causing serious muscle damage.
Although much of the legs may be used to stabilize a person during a lift, much of the pressure and stress of the weight can transfer to the knees and the thighs. Unlike the back or even the shoulder, the legs have a large number of different muscle groups working simultaneously, which makes the chance of injury more spread out among different potential muscles. While this does not make the legs necessarily less prone to injury, it does often allow a person to still complete basic tasks while injured without compromising the entire leg.
Not made up of muscle, but ligament, bone, and other connective tissues, the knee can be an especially problematic area for some people. If a weight is too great for the knee’s tissue to maintain, the pressure may be enough to tear some of these tissues or ligaments, causing severe pain and difficulty with mobility.
Perhaps the greatest problem with a leg injury is the loss of mobility. This injury may leave a person without the ability to complete tasks that might be necessary for a particular job description. However, an affected individual may be able to complete other related jobs while their leg heals. For more information regarding injuries to the legs from lifting, contact a workers’ compensation attorney.