Industrial Rehabilitation Services

Industrial Rehabilitation Services are designed to function as an adjunct to our established physical therapy services as well as an outreach to local industry. The Industrial Rehabilitation Services act as the final step in case resolution for the injured worker and assist in safe return to work, appropriate job placement, and assessment of worker capabilities. These services benefit both the employee and employer for a safe and cost effective way for injury management and prevention.

The following services are offered through our Industrial Rehabilitation Program:

Work Conditioning

Work Conditioning is an intensive, work related, goal oriented conditioning program designed to restore the injured employee’s physical capacity and function in order to assist in their return to work. The program is designed to improve the employee’s joint mobility, strength, power, endurance, motor learning, and aerobic capacity in order to facilitate a quick and safe return to work.

The injured employee will transition from acute physical therapy to a job specific program when deemed appropriate by the treating therapist and the referring physician.

Each injured employee will be educated on issues related to safe job performance and injury prevention. Our ultimate goal is to return the employee to work as quickly as possible at his or her prior level of function before the injury.

Work conditioning sessions are generally 2-4 hours/day, 3-5 days/week, 2-8 weeks in duration, dependent upon the individual’s needs and functional goals.  

Daily progress is documented and made available to the employer, insurance carriers, case managers and referring physicians as needed.

Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE)

The FCE is a 3-4 hour comprehensive, validated, objective test of a person’s ability to perform work related tasks and their functional capabilities. The FCE is job specific and identifies functional limitations that may prohibit a safe return to work. Results are compared to the physical demands of the job and recommendations are made involving return to work options.

Job Site Analysis

A Job Site Analysis is an objective evaluation of a job and the essential physical demands of that job. It helps identify work postures, movements, forces, repetitions, loads and other physical demands of each specific job task. It also measures the environmental characteristics, such as work station dimensions, layout, equipment, tools and any other factors which affect the worker. This information can be utilized for identification of risk factors as well as a stepping stone for developing accurate job descriptions.

Pre-Work Screening/Post-Offer Testing

Post-Offer Tests are individualized tests that evaluate an employee’s ability to perform the essential physical demands of a specific job. These tests are utilized by companies that have very physical work tasks, frequent lifting, or positions with high turnover and injury rates. A comprehensive and effective Post-Offer Test is an essential part of an injury prevention plan for employers. Ultimately, Post-Offer Tests are directly proportional with lower injury rates, which is a cost effective solution for an employer’s rising worker’s compensation costs.

Early Intervention

The Early Intervention program is designed to treat the injured employee, either work related or non-work related, immediately after an injury or suspected injury has occurred. The injured employee is partnered with one of our skilled physical therapists and a comprehensive treatment plan is designed to help them regain mobility, decrease pain as well as decrease loss time at work.

Musculoskeletal injuries on average are the most costly type of work place injury and can cause unnecessary suffering to the injured employee and high costs to the employer.   Intervening early and focusing on the employee’s health with a structured plan of care allows the employee to be involved in their own care and develop a sense of self responsibility and better outcomes. A key part of the injured employee’s plan of care includes education and strategies to prevent future injuries, which in turn results in a safer and healthier workforce.

The Early Intervention program is a direct cost to the employer with no health insurance required. The employer can customize their own program and choose to offer their employees, a certain number of visits per year, for a musculoskeletal evaluation and follow up. This strategy is cost effective, by reducing indirect costs to the employer due to lost productivity, recruitment and retraining costs as well as boosting worker morale and creating a supportive environment.

Contact one of our Industrial Rehabilitation specialists to learn more about the Early Intervention Model and our other Industrial Rehabilitation Services to see how they may be beneficial to your organization.

Other Industrial Rehabilitation Services Offered
 

• Ergonomic Work Station Analysis (Office and Industrial Settings)

• Injury Prevention Classes (Stretching Programs)

• Injury Prevention Programs

• Musculoskeletal Screening

• Safety and Body Mechanics Training