Work Conditioning & Functional Capacity
What is Work Conditioning?
Work Conditioning is a patient problem management program designed to rehabilitate an injured worker with respect to his cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems. There is a strong emphasis on the functional assessment and functional rehabilitation with the ultimate goal of returning the injured worker to work on a job that is within the worker’s physical ability.
What is an FCE?
Functional Capacity Evaluation is a systematic process of assessing an individual’s physical capacities and functional abilities.
The FCE may be used to do the following:
- To determine the individual’s ability to safely return to work full time or on modified duty.
- To determine if work restrictions, job modifications or reasonable accommodations are necessary to prevent further injury.
- To determine the extent to which impairments exist or the degree of physical disability for compensation purposes.
- To predict the potential ability to perform work following acute rehabilitation or a work-hardening/work-conditioning program.
FCEs are done on an intensive one-to-one basis and range in length from 4 to 6 hours. Patients should wear comfortable workout clothes and shoes.
