Back to school: How this injured NSW teacher made a successful recovery at work

Sharon successfully went back to school after falling over lounging student

It’s a well-known truism that you should never work with children or animals, but *Sharon, a learning support teacher at a NSW school, loved her job and was itching to get back to school after sustaining a significant back injury while at work. ‘Sharon had been walking backwards out of a classroom when she tripped over a student who was lounging on the floor,’ says Natalie Mizzau, Senior Rehabilitation Consultant at Recovery Partners. Sharon, who is in her late forties, put her hands behind her to break her fall and landed heavily on the hard surface. ‘Sharon had soft tissue damage to both her hands, but that actually resolved itself quite quickly,’ Natalie says. ‘The greater injury was to her lower back, a lumbosacral strain.’ Sharon was certified as unfit for work for a period of three weeks after the injury occurred but was keen to return to her job as soon as she was able, Natalie says. Sharon’s GP also understood the benefits of recovery at work and supported her decision, provided she undertook physiotherapy to aid her rehabilitation.

Return to work plan

To facilitate Sharon’s return to work, Natalie developed a return to work plan that involved a graded return to pre-injury hours and duties for Sharon as her recovery and treatment progressed. The plan served as the framework for medical case conferences with Sharon’s GP. ‘Before we had each case conference, I’d discuss the next stage of the plan with Sharon and check that she was happy to increase her work capacity and hours,’ says Natalie. ‘Then, the GP just had to confirm it.’ Sharon’s school offered her alternative duties and made some practical changes to suit her reduced capacity. These changes included: moving her office to the ground floor of her building, so she didn’t have to navigate stairs, changing her timetable so she wasn’t required to move between different rooms, and exempting her from playground duty at lunch, so she didn’t have to stand for extended periods. ‘Sharon’s employer was very supportive and thoughtful in the way they accommodated her reduced capacity,’ Natalie says.

Physiotherapy Treatment

Sharon went to physiotherapy sessions twice a week, and the professionalism of this treatment provider was another integral part of Sharon’s good progress, says Natalie. ‘The physiotherapist was very experienced, so the treatment she provided was effective and her communication was great, too. It can be frustrating when it’s hard to get in contact with treating parties, as that can slow things down on our end and make it difficult to coordinate everyone. It definitely helps when everyone makes sure they’re available for updates.’

Support through workers’ compensation claim process

Five months after her fall, Sharon made a full and safe return to her pre-injury duties and hours of work. Before their last meeting, Sharon expressed her gratitude to Natalie for guiding her on the return to work journey. ‘Like a lot of people, Sharon had never been through a workers’ compensation claim process before, so she had no idea she would receive as much support as she did,’ says Natalie. ‘She really appreciated it and I was glad to be able to help.’ Wow, teachers really will do anything to get out of playground duty. (Just joking, Sharon!)  

If you’d like a supportive consultant to guide a worker through a successful and safe return to work, give Recovery Partners a call.

Our services are available nationwide. For more information about our services contact us.

Our consultants love to have a chat, so go ahead and give us a call on 1300 OHS RTW (647 789) or email enquiries@rrp.com.au

*Some names have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals and organisations involved.