Unfortunately... the perfect example

So, here is an interesting twist. I had the perfect example of a workplace injury that seems like a clinical visit is imperative, and yet was not needed. Now, I did this at the gym, to be clear, and not at work, but the scenario is the same.

I pulled a hamstring doing a leg workout, and it was bad. I knew it right away; I heard the tear, and I yelled like I had gotten shot. Everything went black for a second, and I was nauseous right away. The pain radiated from the middle of my glut all the way down to my right foot. I had to hold still for several moments before I felt like I could move or limp away. I slowly made my way to the locker room to grab my stuff and I headed home right away to ice my leg. I took Ibuprofen right away, and iced my entire hamstring for 20 minutes every hour on the hour for much of the day. In 24 hours, I felt amazing better than I had just a day earlier. This just happened on Thursday morning, so I am not entirely healed as of yet.

So, how does this play into a nurse triage example? I have access to RNs in my building, they work with me! So I called one of our nurses and described what had occurred and got her opinion on what to do next. I have had injuries similar to this before, and I know from experience that there in not much if anything (other than write me a prescription for RX level Ibuprofen) So, if this exact scenario had happened at work, and I would have called into the TriageNow hotline and spoken to a nurse, I would likely have been given Self Care as my treatment recommendation, at least at the beginning of the process. If things did not progress in a positive direction, then I would have wanted to get a clinical evaluation. As long as there was no numbness, tingling, hot or cold spots above or below the injury, etc., I would not have needed clinical care initially. I know I was happier and more comfortable addressing this injury at home, and without a wait at a clinic for the same care advice.

Should this have been a claim if it happened in the workplace? In my opinion, this is exactly the kind of injury that doesn't necessarily need to go through the clinical system. Certainly anything short of this (lesser in impact or pain) does not likely need clinical intervention, unless there are other underlying conditions to be factored in. But that is where the RN comes into play, having a medical professional to assist in determining what you should do to properly address an injury, whether at work or not!