Sick leave for osteochondrosis.
During a relapse of cervical, thoracic, lumbar osteochondrosis, such acute pain occurs that the person is unable to perform his official duties. Therefore, he is issued a sick leave certificate for presentation to the personnel department and confirmation of incapacity for work. The duration of release from work depends on the diagnostic results. How many days sick leave will be issued for osteochondrosis is also influenced by the severity of the symptoms.
CT scan of the lumbar spine for osteochondrosis.
In what cases is sick leave issued?
Osteochondrosis is a disease that is diagnosed in most people around the world. Therefore, the issuance of a certificate of temporary disability for this pathology is characterized by a number of features. It opens when a patient is diagnosed with persistent, constant, episodic radicular or myofascial pain, which can be acute or chronic, worsening with movement. This nature of the pain syndrome indicates the progression of the pathology. This is especially true for workers whose job duties require prolonged exposure to a non-physiological body position.
The patient's condition is assessed by a neurologist, vertebrologist or a medical commission. The decision to issue a temporary disability certificate is made on the basis of a generally accepted scale. It takes into account the characteristics and severity of symptoms, medical history, complications of osteochondrosis that have arisen and the duration of the upcoming therapy.
| A group of symptoms that serve as the basis for issuing sick leave for osteochondrosis | Detailed description and characteristics |
| Reflex-tonic syndrome | The syndrome is clinically manifested by spinal deformation (stooping, curvature, displacement of vertebral bodies, kyphosis). The patient is observed to adopt a forced body position to reduce the intensity of pain. Muscle fibers become denser, shortened, and calcium salts are deposited at trigger points, which significantly limits mobility. |
| Tension syndrome | Characteristic is the appearance of pain that intensifies when walking or changing body position. The basis for issuing a document is the diagnosis of Wasserman-Matskevich and Lasegue-Falre syndromes, a positive Neri test |
| Visceral pain syndrome | This is a set of pain symptoms caused by a disorder of innervation. These include pain in the cardiac and epigastric region, intercostal neuralgia, urination and defecation disorders |
| Symptoms of hair loss | Signs of prolapse occur in the later stages of development of the pathology, manifested by disturbances of sensitivity and innervation, complete or partial muscle atrophy, and decreased reflexes |
Problems and their occurrence
Our vertebrae, cartilage, and ligaments are constantly under stress. This is especially true for people whose work involves carrying or lifting heavy objects. This also includes workers who are constantly sitting at the computer, the so-called “office plankton”. Incorrect posture, scoliosis, destruction of intervertebral discs caused by lack of mobility, all this is the beginning of the development of osteochondrosis, which sooner or later leads to painful symptoms and limited movement.
The lumbar region of the spine, our main core, gradually immobilizes, ossifies, and sharp pain appears during movement. The range of movements noticeably narrows, the person becomes unable to reach the toes of his own feet. Side effects begin to develop, the disease is transferred to the legs, arms, and fingers. If you do not pay attention to the “first signals” that the body gives at an early stage of pathology, you can easily reach disability.
In order not to bring the disease to the breaking point, it is necessary to consult a doctor in a timely manner. There are many ways to relieve pain. During exacerbations during limited mobility, a blockade is usually done using medications. They relieve spasms and are injected directly into muscle tissue.
Chondroprotectors are widely used during the recovery period and as a preventative measure. They successfully restore cartilage, but the recovery period is quite long, from six months to a year.
For osteochondrosis, it is recommended to eat foods containing gelatin, do special exercises, decompress the spine as much as possible during the period of incapacity, use acupuncture, and manual recovery methods.
The horizontal bar serves as an excellent preventive measure to eliminate any hint of cervical osteochondrosis. It's enough to hang on it for a few minutes a day.
In general, an active lifestyle, of course, without fanaticism, is the best remedy for all diseases associated with the musculoskeletal system.
How to apply for sick leave
If a medical commission gathers to assess the patient’s condition, it is necessary to provide the results of instrumental and general clinical studies. Sometimes additional diagnostic measures are required, for example, multislice computed tomography, electromyography, densitometry, serological tests to determine rheumatoid factor.
MSCT - multislice computed tomography.
Issuing a certificate of incapacity for work is simplified when the attending physician makes a decision. When osteochondrosis worsens suddenly, you should make an appointment with a neurologist or therapist. The doctor will assess the patient’s condition and become familiar with his working conditions.
It is also issued if it is necessary to rehabilitate a patient in a sanatorium, hospital, or hospital. It is necessary to provide the medical commission with a referral to these medical institutions.
Disability
This disease often affects very young people. In many ways, its appearance is associated with difficult working conditions, hypothermia, poor nutrition or congenital ailments. This is a type of vertebrogenic diseases leading to various types of disability. The chronic form of the disease can cause temporary or permanent inability to work.
Young people rarely take advantage of sick leave in order to reduce the illness to “no,” they ignore the advice of doctors and continue to lead their previous lifestyle. This behavior leads to a lot of problems associated with the skeletal system and joints in later life.
The danger of the disease was not invented by “harmful” doctors; it is more relevant than ever and is global in nature.
Unfavorable working conditions, bad habits, poor nutrition, unbearable stress on the spine, a sedentary lifestyle - this set of modern factors can destroy the most resilient and healthy organism.
For how long is sick leave issued for osteochondrosis?
The duration of sick leave depends on the intensity of the symptoms, their impact on the patient’s ability to perform work duties, and the need for inpatient or sanatorium therapy. The average duration of treatment for cervical, thoracic, lumbosacral osteochondrosis is 3-10 days. During this period, drug therapy, massage and physiotherapy procedures, and exercise therapy will be carried out.
If the patient’s well-being does not improve, the sick leave is extended with the condition of further treatment in a hospital or surgical operation.
Repeated appeal by a patient with complaints of exacerbation of pathology becomes the basis for his extradition for the following period:
- intense pain syndrome - 7-10 days;
- carrying out therapy in a hospital setting - 2-3 weeks;
- surgical intervention - 2-6 weeks depending on the method of operation.
If the patient seeks medical help for the first time, then disability is determined for 7 days. This time is enough to relieve severe pain and/or aseptic inflammation caused by soft tissue damage.
Reviews
Svetlana Petrovna, 48 years old, Rostov-on-Don “I want to share my experience of how I got rid of cervical osteochondrosis. A few years ago I couldn’t turn my neck, that’s how much it hurt. I spent a month on sick leave every six months. Today I don’t even take medicine. Firstly, I got hooked on chondroprotectors, I take them twice a year for a month and a half. Every day, while still lying in bed, I do gymnastics, then exercises with head turns while sitting on the bed. Using a computer for no more than an hour a day is a taboo. Swimming pool twice a week. Every weekend I cook jellied meat. In a word, I took care of myself, and it turned out that the disease has subsided and I feel great! Not a single sick leave in three years.”
Igor, 34 years old, Moscow “Cervical osteochondrosis is my main soreness. I work in an office and stare at the computer all day. What to do? I’m trying to do a massage, using the Kuznetsov applicator, but my neck hurts like crazy. I’ll probably have to change something, leave work, because twice every six months I’m on sick leave, and my bosses aren’t happy. Tell me, is there a good cure for this damned disease?”
Duration of sick leave for complications
Complications of osteochondrosis of any localization include intervertebral hernia, discogenic myelopathy, vertebral artery syndrome, and radicular syndrome. Many of them are the basis for issuing sick leave for a period of 2-3 months.
If relapses of the pathology occur more and more often, then disability is established for 4-6 months. Such patients, with a doctor’s referral and instrumental diagnostic data, have the right to contact the local MSEC department to determine their disability group.
If complications develop that are not eliminated by long-term conservative therapy, the patient is recommended to undergo surgical treatment. After surgery, the period required for rehabilitation is determined by the chosen method of intervention and the patient’s recovery rate. The use of minimally invasive surgical procedures does not require long sick leave - 2 weeks are enough for the patient to return to light work. For abdominal operations with excision of a hernial protrusion and intervertebral disc, rehabilitation will take up to 6 months.
Do I need to notify the employer?
In addition, Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation clearly states that the absence of an employee even for one day or more than 4 hours in a row at the workplace threatens him with dismissal; therefore, warning the employer is primarily the own interest of the employee who does not want to lose his job.
Naturally, it all depends on the relationship between the employee and his superiors, who may be uncritical of absenteeism or be aware of his health. For example, they know that an employee has a serious chronic illness and is often absent.
But most often, an employee warns his superiors about his illness before the start of his shift or at the beginning of the working day in various ways:
- phone call;
- text message to email, mobile phone, social networks;
- reporting illness to colleagues, who will then pass the information on to management;
- sends by fax/e-mail an unopened sick leave certificate (copy) as proof of illness.
The length of time on sick leave for illnesses, as a rule, cannot be predicted; therefore, in this case, the employee must either say approximately how long he will be absent from work, or simply report the diagnosis itself.
Thus, the duration of sick leave depends on many circumstances, which are taken into account by current legislation. During the official opening of the ballot, the employee is protected by law, so management does not have the right to exert any pressure or manipulation, since the decisive factor here will be only the period of rehabilitation of the employee and the doctor’s decision. Consequently, the duration of sick leave is a purely individual case.
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The paid period here is 140 days in the standard version (if the pregnancy is normal and 1 child is born). If complications are detected, sick leave is extended for 16 days. In cases of multiple pregnancies, 194 days of sick leave are paid.
- If there is oncology, then the duration of the sick leave will immediately be 3 months. Then everything will depend on the success of the treatment. In some cases, the patient has to undergo surgery. In this situation, the closure of the certificate of incapacity for work after the operation is postponed for 3 months. This period includes hospital stay and recovery period.
In what cases do they not give a bulletin with osteochondrosis?
If a patient refuses to be hospitalized or to carry out therapeutic measures prescribed by a doctor, a certificate of temporary incapacity for work is not issued to him. This is also true if the patient does not want to be examined to justify issuing a sick leave. Other grounds for refusal:
- absence of clinical manifestations that could indicate a person’s inability to perform professional duties;
- applying for sick leave during remission, when most symptoms are absent;
- presence at examination or diagnostic procedures under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The bulletin may be terminated if the treatment regimen is not followed, medical recommendations are not followed, or periodic medical examinations are refused.