Actually, yes there are a couple of great ways to do this. The biggest problem is exaggerating your symptoms. We’ve met very few people who were out and out liars about their situation. Seriously, about three or four out of several thousand. What we do see is that clients are trying to get the attention of doctors who seem to be ignoring them. It’s sort of a “I have to shout loud to get his attention” approach which shouldn’t be necessary but, unfortunately, sometimes is. In this approach sometimes the client is overstating things to underscore how much of a problem he is having.
It’s important to be very specific about what hurts and when. Statements like “it hurts all over” or “my pain is an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10” are counterproductive. Keep in mind that many of the doctors treating workers’ compensation claimants are a bit skeptical of injured workers. It’s really easy for them to just dismiss you as an exaggerator. Don’t fall into that trap. We recommend that injured workers be prepared for their doctors visits by being able to give very specific information about what hurts, when, and what makes it feel better. While in a sense you know your body better than the doctor does, the doctor knows more about bodies than you do. Saying “it hurts all over all the time” does nothing to help him determine what’s wrong. It does suggest that you’re not completely accurate though.
You’ve probably heard the phrases “slipped disk” or “pinched nerve” before. What happens is that the main nerves exiting the spinal column get pushed on by swelling tissue or a disk or disk matter. These, and other, nerves are vulnerable when they go through small spaces but have little soft tissue protection. So, if a nerve gets pinched by a piece of disc material or bit of vertebra, wherever that nerve goes you are likely to feel pain or numbness all along it. For example, we see a lot of injuries at the L3-L4, L-4-L5, and L5-S1 areas of the low back. These refer to the 3rd, 4th and 5th vertebrae in the lumbar spine (your low back) and the 1st vertebra in the sacral spine (your tailbone). The nerves involved here go down the legs. If you have burning pain down the middle of the back of your legs you may well have an injury to the S1 nerve. Similarly, if the sole of your foot and your toes are numb you may have an injury to your L5 nerve. When you talk to a doctor you need to be clear on where you hurt and when. If the pain is strictly in your back/buttocks and not down your legs be clear about this. On the other hand if the pain extends down your legs it will help your doctor if you can be clear and specific about where precisely it hurts.
