A pair of warehouse workers is experiencing the same work-related injury – they’ve both got pain in their back and neck and it’s limiting their ability to work effectively throughout an entire shift. Both workers visit two separate specialists to make sense of the pain and to ultimately alleviate it.
Specialist A tells Worker A, “This sharp stinging pain throughout your body was a long time coming, and if you keep going at this rate you’ll likely need a walker by the time you’re 55.”
Meanwhile, Specialist B tells Worker B, “Looks like you’ve got a little bit of soreness. It’s understandable in your line of work. There are a few things we can do, but you’re going to be just fine.”
No matter the solutions ultimately presented by the specialists, Worker B is already on an expedited route to healing – all because of what he’s heard after just a few minutes with a certified professional. This is the massive impact of healing versus harmful language.
Our Perception of Pain
Our experience of pain is ultimately determined by the brain and how it perceives threats – and what we hear plays an important role in that. When medical professionals use urgent, frightening language in describing a worker’s pain, it elicits an anxious response and can cause them to make drastic decisions as it pertains to their own health.
Instead, we should be using language that involves the worker in their own healing process and that instills optimism and confidence that they’ll be able to overcome whatever the issue may be. However, achieving this goal is often difficult, due to the way the medical system has operated for so long – and the underlying reasons for it.
The Incentive of the Medical System
The very fact that the worker is put in a patient-type position when interfacing with the medical system makes them more vulnerable to harmful language; they’re already expecting some form of negative news. Whether it’s as minor as an easily solvable equipment issue or as major as the need for reconstructive back surgery, they’re expecting some form of problem. This is why the information relayed from the medical provider about the cause of the problem and the solution needs to be clear, easy to understand, and non-ambiguous.
Unfortunately, the medical system is not incentivized to de-medicalize, but rather to simply do things to patients any time they visit – no matter what. The medical system is also historically a paternalistic system, meaning there are unwritten rules of challenging (or not challenging) what is said or diagnosed. When you combine that with the unquestioned incentive to do things, the need to justify those actions takes the form of large, looming terms and labels that can frighten patients and instill in them the belief that they are quite severely injured – when in reality, often times they’re not.
A patient might think to himself, ”The doctor said the MRI showed degeneration. I knew I was really hurt!” when the MRIs of those without pain are often showing the exact same thing. This is a fundamental flaw within the healthcare system. In some cases – and especially with doctors with decades of experience – they may not even be aware they’re using harmful language. They’re just doing what they’ve always done or relaying information without noticing how it’s affecting the patient. But there are many ways to do this with healing language.
Implementing Healing Language
For sprains and strains, how your workers perceive and understand their pain all starts with how it’s described to them. The right words will both inform while instilling appropriate optimism and serving as a healing mechanism in and of themselves. Here are some key ways to put healing words to work within your organization:
- Avoid using the word “pain” – Research has proven that it only makes things worse. Instead, find alternative terms such as “soreness” or “discomfort” that illustrate the same message without alarming the worker.
- Use reassuring language –Reassuring workers that they will be ok and highlighting what isn’t hurt seems simple but is extremely helpful for someone experiencing discomfort.
- Avoid sharing any “war” stories of your own or of anyone else’s past injuries– While it’s easy to share these just to make conversation, it’s not comforting for a worker to hear how bad a similar situation turned out for your Uncle Jimmy.
Involve Your Workers in Their Own Healing
While it may seem like learning to routinely and effectively utilize healing language is complicated or not in your scope as a safety professional, it is actually very simple and ideally suited for your opportunity to positively impact employees experiencing soreness. By understanding pain as the brain’s response to a threat, you can decrease that threat by impacting the emotional state of the worker via the initial interaction.
For instance, you can avoid using the word “pain” and ensure your workers they are going to be okay, and that they will get taken care of. Using those thoughts and combining them with an onsite early intervention resource that understands these pain science principles will go a long way toward saving your employees from the pain of an injury – and toward saving you from the headaches associated with a worker who is injured.
Contact Fit For Work today for hands-on guidance in making healing language the only option within your organization.
References
- Bedell S, Graboys T, Bedell E, Lown B. Words That Harm, Words That Heal. Jul 12 2004.
- Louw A, Zimney K, Puentedura E, Diener I. The efficacy of pain neuroscience education on musculoskeletal pain: A systematic review of the literature
