What is a Functional Capacity Evaluation?
Functional capacity evaluation — the phrase can strike fear into injured workers. An FCE is a series of tests used to determine if a person is able to return to the same duties he or she held before an injury occurred. The injured person feels defensive about “proving” their current physical status. Yet the tests are designed to be objective and fair to all involved.
What Do FCEs Assess?
There are a number of reasons you or a family member might be asked to have a functional capacity evaluation done by an occupational therapist or another medical professional. For some people, the evaluation determines whether or not they can resume their much-needed jobs. For others, it helps establish the legitimate need for disability and other insurance programs.
In fact, an agency or workplace might ask you to submit to an FCE for one of several highly specific reasons. These include:
- Providing evidence for any legal action you may pursue in the future related to your injury.
- Charting the progress of physical therapy and other medical treatments as you recover.
- Helping your employer evaluate if you should be transferred to another role with different physical requirements.
- Determining if you are able to return to your current work in any capacity.
- Assessing if you can be employed at all (if injuries are severe).
- Evaluating if you can continue with a regulated activity, such as participating in your current team sport.
- Passing the physical requirements for a physically demanding new job, club or volunteer activity.
What Happens During an FCE?
You’ll be asked several questions at the outset of your functional capacity evaluation. They will likely include how the injury happened, what medical care you’ve had, and recovery time from any surgeries. The occupational therapist will also ask you to describe your current limitations and abilities, to the best of your knowledge. These questions will cover your range of motion, breathing issues, muscle spasms, level of fatigue after doing certain actions, and problems with fine motor skills and gross motor skills.
The physical tests themselves can take up much of the rest of the day and cover a range of activities. Participants are advised to dress comfortably. If you have been using any new devices since the injury, make sure to bring these. The evaluator can test your abilities both with and without a cane, for example.
Some tests will be simple, as with performing some simple range of motion exercises on a mat. Others will involve endurance machines such as a treadmill, or tools such as a spirometer for measuring lung capacity.
Because job-related injuries and chronic illnesses can impact people in a variety of ways, a functional capacity evaluation may test you in ways that seem unrelated to your job. Balance, vision, ability to carry weight, and capacity for standing for extended periods of time are among the things for which you will be tested.
Don’t be intimidated if you’re required to undergo a functional capacity evaluation. Our professional staff is highly trained in taking patients through these tests and delivering objective reports. Call today to schedule the assessment, or fill out our online form. A member of our team will contact you within 24 hours.
