Who is Return to Work Services for?

Return to Work Services are designed for individuals recovering from work-related injuries, such as back injuries, repetitive motion disorders, and upper or lower extremity issues. The program aims to facilitate a safe return to work by gradually increasing physical activity, incorporating work simulations, and providing educational sessions.

What does Return to Work Service involve?

Work Conditioning

Frequency: 3-5 days per week, up to 8 weeks.

Components:

• Work-focused therapeutic intervention and functional retraining.
• Individualized work simulation.
• Body mechanics training, including injury prevention strategies.
• Recommendations for job accommodation and ergonomic changes.
• A total body approach to strengthening and conditioning.
• Patient education on ergonomics and injury prevention.

Personalized Occupational and Physical Therapy

Frequency: 1-5 days per week.

Components:

• Injury-specific therapeutic exercises, manual therapy, and/or aquatics therapy.
• Individualized work simulation.
• Patient education on ergonomics and injury prevention.

Additional Services

• Driver rehabilitation with occupational therapists.
• Cognitive rehabilitation or speech therapy.

Customized Assessments

Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE):

• Assesses functional abilities, including material handling capacities, consistency of effort, and reliability.
• Establishes return-to-work status.

Jobsite Analysis:

• Evaluates the workplace, including physical and environmental factors.
• Provides information to formulate an individualized return-to-work plan.

Ergonomic Study:

• Assesses the fit between the individual and job requirements.
• Identifies aspects of the work environment that increase injury risk and helps resolve ergonomic challenges.

Meet Our Return to Work Services Team

The team consists of certified and licensed rehabilitation professionals, including:

• Physical therapists.
• Occupational therapists.
• Ergonomic specialists.

Duration of Return to Work Service

The program typically lasts 4-8 weeks. Early referral for evaluation and treatment leads to better outcomes and a faster return to work, as the likelihood of returning decreases the longer an employee is off work due to injury.