Nursing with a Back Injury

[•M♥J•]

Hello, I am a pre-nursing student and something has been bugging me as I wait for my school to decide on the next class.

I was in a car accident 5-6 years ago which caused me to have herniated discs in my lower back. This resulted in pain whenever I would stand for long periods of time and limited my lifting ability. After physical therapy and lots of time, it never got better, but it was much more manageable. Skip ahead to two year ago and I get into ANOTHER accident (I am a good driver, really, I was rear-ended both times! Just unlucky I guess...). This aggravated my injury and I am still trying to recover from the continued damage it did to my back.

This brings me to my question: can I realistically be a nurse with a back injury? I know I can operate good body mechanics and be careful to team lift patients, but how realistic are these scenarios? Is nursing really 12 hours of standing at a stretch? I would love to do hospital work, but I am just nervous about the pain I will go through in my back and hips.

Anyone have any experience with any of this? Any thoughts would be much appreciated as I am really worried...

Thank you!

[guest2210]

It can be done. I've had a chronic injury for over 30 years now and have been an LPN for 28 years. the pain gets bad at times, and I do take pain meds prn, even lost 162# which helped with some of the pain but the herniations are still present. I've seen too many friends have back surgery and get more screwed up afterwards. so at this point it's not even an option I would consider.

Good luck...

[Scrubby]

I've just come from the GP and I'm on weight restrictions again but this time I pushed for physiotherapy referral. I'm sick and tired of just taking drugs and feeling off the planet, I want to DO something so I can get my life back. I know this sounds a wee bit dramatic but I used to be so active before this all happened.

[Tait, MSN, RN]

I've just come from the GP and I'm on weight restrictions again but this time I pushed for physiotherapy referral. I'm sick and tired of just taking drugs and feeling off the planet, I want to DO something so I can get my life back. I know this sounds a wee bit dramatic but I used to be so active before this all happened.

I hear you on the drugs part. I feel like everytime I go in they throw Lortab, Medrol packs, Zanaflex and Voltaren at me. All I want is the PT!

Tait

[jxRN]

I'm a new grad RN with back pain. I've had it since i was 17 during a sports injury,, then reinjured during clinicals..

I'm going to take a job in PSYCH. lots of paper work, patients are all mobile. i HOPE that's going to be alright for me. I'm going to be very careful in medsurg settings, very careful with lifting. My back chronically spasms up.. i got through nursing school fine. i hope you will too. good luck

[•M♥J•]

Thank you all for your responses. I am currently working in a psychiatrists office and have a bachelor's in psychology... Being a psych nurse is definitely a possibility, now that I think about it. I would like to work with either psych patients or babies/children. So, NICU, L/D, Psych or Peds. Now I just have to get into my school's program and get through clinicals :)

PS. I loved the inversion table my PT had me go on during our visits. The blood rushes to your head but that is a decompression like no other!

[ljp53]

I know how you feel. I have had multiple injections & ablations in my lower back. I have been out of work for 2 years because of this back injury. I want to GO BACK TO WORK. Jobs are hard to find-nurses don't leave Dr offices (anyway all nurses are being replaced my MA) When I was youger I would have bounced back in no time now my injury and age are holding me back. I was going to retrain to someting else ie; ultrasound. My feedback was the market is flooded and your age is a problem. Anybody out there have any suggestions!!!!!!