You absolutely need to document when you have flares to new areas and treat those areas aggressively. If they turn into permanent spread areas, of course WC won't be happy. The only thing that will make WC is your spontaneous recovery with no cost of treatment to them. WC law varies widely from state to state, so you need to know what your options even are.

Due to your age, I'd encourage you to apply for SSDI. You can receive up to 80% of your gross earnings between WC and SSDI. When you hit retirement age in a year or two, your benefits will convert to SS retirement. You can apply using your Alleged Onset Date as the month after your injury where you made less than $1090 and didn't have subsequent months above that. If in doubt, it might be better to pick a month with even lower earnings or no earnings. Your Alleged Onset Date (AOD) can be prior to your application date. There is a 5 month waiting period, and you can receive up to 12 months retroactive benefits. So, in an ideal situation your AOD won't be more than 17 months from your application. Pm me or post on the SSDI forum if you have questions.

You MUST insist SS approves your medical set aside if you decide to close out your WC case and settle. So long as you do that, SS will allow you to use Medicare to pay for your work related injuries once you exhaust your WC medical funds.

Hiring an attorney might be crucial or not much of a help. It really depends on your state.