Industrial Rehabilitation
Industrial Rehabilitation and Occupational Health:
The Industrial Rehabilitation and Occupational Health program at Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy Associates, Inc. (OSPTA) is a comprehensive service that focuses on the needs of the injured workers in our community. Physical therapy, occupational therapy and pain management are the foundation of our rehabilitation program. In addition, close collaboration with physicians, nurse case managers and employers provides an interdisciplinary model that facilitates the appropriate return to work decisions.
Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE)
An objection and quantitative assessment of the patient’s physical abilities for performing work can be documented through a Functional Capacity Evaluation. This type of test comprises tasks which require the individual to use their strength, assume various positions and perform various movements in order to determine the individual’s safe physical limitations for performing work. An FCE prior to the initiation of an industrial rehabilitation program provides baseline data that is help to determine major areas of dysfunction and at what level to start the patient in the program. Often times, a second FCE at the end of the program is performed in order to determine whether treatment goals have been met and ultimately if the patient is ready to return to work. Our clinic uses the ErgoScience Physical Work Performance Evaluation (PWPE).
Impairment Ratings
Impairment Ratings or Percentages are estimates that reflect the severity of an individual’s medical condition and the degree to which the impairment decreases that individual’s ability to perform common activities of daily living (ADL), excluding work. Therefore, Impairment Ratings are not intended for use as direct determinants of work disability. The American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 5th Edition, is utilized for the determination of impairment ratings.
Work Conditioning:
A work conditioning program generally follows acute medical care or may begin when the patient meets specific criteria including, but not limited to:
- Not presently considered a candidate for surgery
- Completed surgical management with the adequate healing time
- Nearing completion of acute conservative care
- Able to tolerate gentle, active exercise
- Has a return to work goal; former job, new job or new career
This phase of treatment is an intensive goal oriented conditioning program designed to restore systemic, neuromusculoskeletal functions, motor function, range of motion and cardiovascular/pulmonary function. The length of each treatment session and the overall length of such a program is highly variable and based upon factors such as overall conditioning of the patient when entering the program, severity of injury and physical demands of former/new job.
Work Hardening:
A work hardening program is a highly structured, goal oriented, individualized intervention program designed to return the patient to work. Such a program utilizes real or simulated work activities designed to restore physical, behavioral and vocational functions, as well as addresses the issues of safe job performance and injury prevention. Eligibility for a work hardening program includes:
- Identified physical, functional, behavioral and vocational deficits that interfere with work
- Specific plan for return to gainful employment at the end of discharge
- Willingness to participate in such a program
As with a work conditioning program, the overall program length and duration of each treatment session is variable and depends on a variety of factors. Work hardening sessions usually last between 2-8 hours per day, depending on the specific needs of the individual
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