A Work Injury Can Be a Life Changing Event
Getting injured or severely ill on the job may be a life changing event. Whether it’s a spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, or other incapacitating event, the injured worker may need to be rehabilitated before they can get back to work.
Rehabilitation for injured workers who want to return to their employment is occupational, focusing on helping them increase strength and flexibility, and to minimize their impairments. It can also provide instruction on practical techniques to work around the difficulties caused by their injuries. The goal is to maximize the injured workers’ ability to do what they want and need to do while increasing day-to-day function and independence.
For work rehabilitation, the worker may not be able to perform all the tasks he or she was previously responsible for at work or may need to regain the ability to do so over time in a structured environment. At Northwest Return to Work (NWRTW) we seek to gain an accurate understanding of the work environment and the worker’s capacity to carry out the job because a work injury can be a life changing event. Using this information, we offer interventions that will help the patient maximize his or her potential to work and to feel happy, confident, and fulfilled—despite limitations from their illness or injury.
Losing the ability to work as you used to because of an injury can lead to feelings of hopelessness and despair. This is why one of the key benefits of work injury rehabilitation is not just medical recovery but social and psychological well-being as well.
At NWRTW there are many aspects to helping someone rehabilitate from an injury. They often include:
Work Conditioning
A conditioning program geared toward helping workers regain strength, mobility, endurance, power, and other aspects of functioning.
Work Hardening
Similar to work conditioning, work hardening is more intensive, and includes a highly structured program that requires a multidisciplinary team.
Function Capacity Evaluation (FCE)
An evaluation of a client’s ability to participate in a job role.
At NWRTW we evaluate a client’s capabilities, the job-related tasks, and the work environment to make recommendations on how they should begin and gradually build up to their maximum capacity.
We work as a team with one important role. Helping the injured work get back to work and back to life.
Contact us to learn more.