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Work-related injury pain

Persistent pain after a workplace injury is assessed and treated here under WorkCover WA. Please tell the practice you have a WorkCover claim when booking, so pre-approved funding can be confirmed with the insurer before your appointment. Treatment combines accurate diagnosis with a structured return-to-work plan.

A workplace injury that will not settle puts people in a difficult position: pain, uncertainty about work and income, and a claims process running alongside recovery. Good specialist care addresses all three — the diagnosis, the treatment, and clear communication with everyone involved in the claim.

The funding process. The practice accepts patients under WorkCover WA. One practical step matters before anything else: tell the practice you have a WorkCover claim when you book, and have your claim number and case manager's details ready. Specialist consultations and treatment under a claim require pre-approved funding, and confirming this with the insurer before your appointment avoids delays and unexpected costs. Approval generally takes around two weeks and can take longer, so mention your claim as early as possible — a claim not disclosed until the day of the appointment means paying in full on the day and seeking reimbursement from the insurer.

Assessment. The clinical standard is the same as for any patient: a careful history of the injury and everything since, examination, review of imaging, and where needed diagnostic procedures to establish — rather than assume — what is generating the pain. Common presentations include back and neck pain after lifting or falls, nerve root pain, shoulder and knee injuries, and pain that has persisted long after the original tissue injury should have healed, where sensitisation of the nervous system is often part of the picture. An accurate diagnosis serves everyone: you, your treating team, and the claim's decision-makers.

Treatment. Whatever the assessment supports: targeted procedures where a pain source is confirmed, medication review, and — centrally — a structured rehabilitation plan. Evidence consistently favours active treatment and early, graded return to suitable work over rest and waiting; long absence from work tends to entrench both pain and disability. That is not a claims talking point; it is what the clinical evidence shows, and the plan is built around it.

Return-to-work planning. As a rehabilitation physician, Dr Martin's role includes practical return-to-work planning: what duties are suitable now, how they should be graded up, what restrictions genuinely apply and for how long. Clear, specific reporting goes to your GP, and communication with approved workplace rehabilitation providers and the insurer happens as the scheme requires — with you informed of what has been said.

If your claim is complicated. Disputes, delayed approvals and independent medical examinations add stress that itself worsens pain. The clinical care here stays focused on your recovery regardless of the claim's weather; where treatment approval is delayed, the rooms will tell you what is held up and what the options are.

Sources: WorkCover WA; Healthdirect Australia.