If you have had had an injury, you may be worried about the future. Your mobility may have been drastically impaired, and if your recovery has been slow, then it may have been a very long time since you worked, drove, or did anything much outside of your home. Your social life may have suffered, and you might well have needed to give up a lot of things that you enjoyed.
Getting the clean bill of health and the okay from your doctors and Brisbane physiotherapists can be a huge relief. You may be itching to get back to your old life. However, you will be mindful of the fact that you have a long way left to go before you are fully back to normal. You may still need to carry on with exercises and make follow up visits to doctors and specialists for some time after you go back to work.
Getting Back Into Work
A big step for many people will be returning to work after a long break from injury. Your company may have been able to keep your job open for you. This will have depended if they had a guarantee that you would have been able to return as well as an idea of the time frame that you would be coming back within.
It can be a massive leap from not being able to do much to going back full-time. You may need to have a phased return and only do shorter shifts, or fewer days. It may take a while to build up your strength and stamina to get back to full steam, so be patient with yourself. Ensure your company is made aware of this and negotiate a way of managing the process of you returning to work in a phased manner. You may need to have your duties amended if your condition makes it difficult to do this. Talk this through with your managers and find a solution that works and agree on time frames to go back to your old duties.
Getting Behind The Wheel Again
Driving after an injury can be tough in many respects. Firstly, you may have decreased mobility meaning that your reaction time may be slower. You may not be able to turn your head so much, which can make it challenging to view your mirrors. Moving your feet on the pedals or shifting the gear stick may be painful to you too. If you have not driven for a long while, you may not be as quick at reacting to hazards as you usually would be. All in all, you need to be sure that you are ready to be back on the road.
Before you go back to driving all of the time, you may need to take an OT driving assessment to gauge your suitability and readiness to be on the road again. You can get then the support and training that you may need to get back on track with your driving.
