Work Conditioning is possibly the most
valuable
return to work tool, but most underused
Job Ready Services has an 80% success rate of work conditioning participants returning to their regular jobs.
Work conditioning is not just a continuation of physical or occupational therapy and is an integral step in the physical recovery of the injured worker. The goals of the program are geared entirely towards return to safe and productive work. It is a structured program of physical conditioning, ergonomics training, and education in safe work practices to address the individualized needs of the IW as it relates to their return to a specific job or job type. It is a training program for the industrial athlete and should be treated as such.
Just as important, work conditioning includes instruction on self-treatment and modification of activities in order to handle those inevitable flare-ups on the job, before they become a re-injury or lost time situation. Patients often report more confidence and feel much more physically “fit” to return to work. Some have even lost weight and improved their overall physical condition. (See also our newsletter from October, 2006)
The best time to refer someone for work conditioning is when the individual has met their goals in P.T., but they are not quite ready to return to work yet. When an injured worker is not in active treatment, but has not returned to work yet, the primary goal should then be the safe return of that employee to work. The more delayed the return to work is, the less likely that person will ever return to work.
Other benefits of work conditioning:
- An earlier, safer return to work
- A daily program that gets the injured worker “out of the house” and more focused on a daily program of work
- Self-imposed competitiveness among the participants, which motivates them to reach beyond their goals
- Increased socialization and less focus on pain and disability
- Increased confidence in returning to a job they once feared as a possible source of re-injury
Other uses of work conditioning:
- Expansion of an invalid FCE – more information is needed regarding the individual's capabilities and effort.
- After an employee has returned from extended leave (e.g., FMLA, STD, etc)
