The stipulations of the parties were recounted in the award of the administrative law judge and are hereby adopted and incorporated in this award by the Commission.
Employee began working for employer in May 2002. As part of employee's job, she helped take care of the residents, including showering and bathing, helping with food and drink, reporting any physical or mental changes, answering their call lights, and making beds.
Employee testified that on June 11, 2002, around 7:15 a.m., she was in a room working with a resident named Charley. She dressed him and put a gait belt on to transfer him from his bed to a Geri-chair when, while trying to pivot, she twisted the lower half of her back and felt "pressure" to the right lower back which "wasn't real intense." Employee reported the injury to her supervisor, Crystal, who arranged an appointment with Dr. Smith that day. Crystal told employee to go home and that they would call her with information regarding a doctor's appointment.
Later that same day employee saw Dr. Smith and his note indicates that she had complaints of low back pain related to the transfer of a resident from a bed to a chair that morning. The exam showed mild tenderness was present in the SI joint with palpable muscle spasms in the upper buttock. Dr. Smith diagnosed employee with a lumbar back strain and prescribed her pain medication. Employee was released to work with no lifting over 20 pounds and no repetitive bending.
On June 24, 2002, employee returned to Dr. Smith for a follow-up. Dr. Smith noted mild tenderness above the right sacroiliac joint, but no muscle spasms were present. Dr. Smith discontinued employee's pain medication. Dr. Smith increased her lifting restrictions to no lifting over 30 pounds.
On July 10, 2002, employee returned to Dr. Smith for another follow-up. Dr. Smith noted the spine was "non tender with a full range of motion." Dr. Smith discharged employee from care and released her to work without restrictions.
Employee testified that when she returned to working without restrictions she still had pressure, but that the pain had lessened. She stated that the pain was localized to the right side of her low back and she had no radiating pain down her right leg. Employee did not seek medical treatment for any continuing complaints of low back pain leading up to the January 14, 2003, accident claim. ${ }^{1}$
Between September 10, 2002, and January 3, 2003, employee visited Dr. Schisler on four separate office visits and did not mention any continued back problems. Employee testified she was working mandatory twelve hour work shifts, some 36-48 hours per week, due to work schedule changes made by employer in late 2002.
On January 14, 2003, employee testified she was using a gait belt to transfer a female resident, Ada, from her bed to a Geri-chair. During the transfer, Ada started "twitching" and employee lost her balance. While lifting Ada back up into bed, employee felt sharp pain in her low back followed by a grinding noise, heard popping, and she dropped to her knees. Employee testified that the pain was totally different in intensity than her June 11, 2002, injury. She stated that it felt like someone took a knife and stabbed her. She grabbed the handrail and pulled herself up and used the rail all the way to the nurse's station where she mentioned her injury to some LPNs and a med tech. They told her to fill out an injury report and to return to work. Employee filled out the injury report and returned to work. Employee could not recall if she had requested medical treatment at that time.
Employee's injury report was undated, but was signed by employee and states: "I reinjured my low back on Ada Shalk" during the "p.m." on January 14, 2003. The Form 1/Report of Injury prepared and signed by Chris Taylor on January 23, 2003 shows that the injury was not reported until January 23, 2003. The report shows employee "was allegedly transferring a resident from shower chair to wheelchair." It also indicates employee was sent to Dr. Smith on January 23, 2003. Lastly, it indicates employee returned to work without disability on January 23, 2003.
Dr. Schisler's January 17, 2003, office note does not contain any history of an injury occurring on January 14, 2003, nor does it contain any complaints of low back pain.
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[^0]: ${ }^{1}$ Employee originally listed the date of accident on this claim as January 23, 2003, but filed an amended claim on the day of the hearing, which changed the date of the alleged 2003 accident to January 14, 2003.
On January 23, 2003, employee saw Dr. Smith and complained of low back pain that had come on in the past two weeks, but she reported no recent injury. Dr. Smith's exam showed mild low back tenderness and decreased range of motion without any neurological deficits. Dr. Smith diagnosed employee with a low back strain and put employee on restrictions of no lifting over 30 pounds and no repeated stooping.
Employee testified that her problems progressed to her right leg within a couple of months after the injury. Employee last worked for employer on February 7, 2003. She was discharged because there were not any light duty jobs and they could not find any job that she could do.
On February 13, 2003, employee returned to Dr. Smith. Dr. Smith identified tenderness in the right SI joint with the ability to bend 80 degrees from a vertical position. Dr. Smith continued employee's pain medication and ordered physical therapy, two times per week for three weeks.
On February 14, 2003, employee saw Dr. Schisler for increasing right lower back pain and spasms, which she claimed had been coming on gradually. Dr. Schisler's note indicated that employee hurt her back at work on the left side a couple of weeks ago and then she was carrying some water at work and began having incremental pain in her right side. Employee also noticed a lump in the PSIS area. Dr. Schisler's exam identified palpable muscle spasms in the PSIS area of the right hip, for which pain medication was prescribed.
Employee testified that she told Dr. Schisler about hurting her back at work, but did not remember telling Dr. Schisler that she hurt her back at work carrying water or that the right low back pain came on gradually.
On March 7, 2003, employee attended her physical therapy evaluation and muscle spasms along the right paraspinal in the right thoracic region were identified. The evaluation also showed a complaint of sharp pain that shoots at times down the right leg to the middle of the hamstring. Employee had four physical therapy visits between March 7, 2003, and March 25, 2003, for a right back strain.
On March 31, 2003, employee saw Dr. Smith. Employee informed Dr. Smith that she had quit working for employer and was working for a home health agency. She indicated the work was less strenuous and her back was feeling better. Employee had no tenderness over the SI joint. Dr. Smith assessed employee with a low back strain that had resolved and released her from care with no restrictions.
Dr. Schisler's records show three office visits by employee between March 31, 2003, and July 21, 2003, which contain no evidence of any continuing low back pain problems.
Employee does not know exactly when she began having constant shooting pain down the low back into the right leg. When confronted with the first diagnosis of "sciatica" referred to in the medical records, employee acknowledged "it could be" that her