Worker’s Compensation: Physical Therapy & the Return to Work

A work injury can cause an abrupt and unexpected change in your life and creates a sense of uncertainty about your future. At Mangiarelli Rehabilitation, we are here to walk through this uncertain time with you, help you achieve optimal recovery, and safely support you in your return to work in a timely manner. We work closely with your physician, case manager, and all those involved with your care and recovery. The team works together to minimize your limitations and decrease your time away from work. Physical therapy along with your doctor’s medical intervention can help to reduce symptoms and pain.

What will physical therapy treatment for a work-related injury involve?

The goal of the physical therapist is to develop, maintain, and restore daily function and employment-related normal movements and assist the worker in regaining their prior functioning level. Physical therapists are experts in the way the body moves and work to restore and improve a worker’s mobility, strength, endurance, coordination, balance, and flexibility and relieve pain. The physical therapist creates a customized treatment plan for the worker’s recovery based on the injured worker’s work-related needs and goals.

The physical therapist assesses the resulting limitation from the work injury through an evaluation. The therapist then works to reduce swelling, stiffness, and pain through education and a variety of interventions to include, but not limited to, warm water exercises, a land-based program, and a home exercise program. The therapist begins with low-impact active treatment through stretching, resistive exercises with weights, and functional exercise.

The next step is replicating and simulating specific work-related tasks, increasing strength training, and working on body mechanics, ergonomics, and endurance so that the worker can tolerate a full workday without significant fatigue. The treatment then progresses to a specialized work conditioning program to prepare the worker for the demands of a work week and allow for a safe return to work. The therapist also provides education on how to avoid injury in the future and avoid injury caused by repetitive motion.

Finally, once treatment is completed, your doctor of record along with the physical therapist will determine if a test called a Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) is necessary to determine your safe limits for lifting and postures required in work. Once the client is discharged, Mangiarelli Rehabilitation then provides the worker with a free 30- day Wellness membership so they can utilize the clinic to continue to maintain the gains they have made in program.

What is the functional capacity evaluation (FCE)?

The functional capacity evaluation is a nationally standardized testing protocol to evaluate a worker’s work-related functional limits at the start of treatment, throughout treatment, and at the close of treatment. It provides a baseline of the worker’s functional level based on the job description, how well a worker can complete tasks, and is an ongoing objective evaluation of the worker’s progress from injury through recovery. The FCE allows a physical therapist to develop a customized, effective treatment plan, craft a timeline for the worker’s safe return to work, and set parameters to prevent injury.

The functional capacity test assesses the functional limitations of the worker, the areas of pain, the client’s overall functional abilities, and measures range of motion, endurance, strength, and tolerance for work-related tasks.

The FCE test involves:

• an intake screening session

• a musculoskeletal screen

• a multiple validity test

• non-material and material handling tolerance

• endurance testing

• FCE final results comparison to the job demands for appropriate job placement upon return to work

Recovering from a work injury is not something you have to manage on your own. We are here to help you navigate the process of returning to work, maximizing your recovery, improving your health, and regaining function so you can return to work healthier and stronger than ever.

Give us a call to learn more about our industrial rehabilitation for injured workers and our work conditioning program! Make an appointment to stop in, take a tour, and speak with a therapist!