Introduction

Musculoskeletal pain is a major cause of disability and affects an individual’s ability to engage in work. Only 40% of patients who have chronic musculoskeletal pain are able to work full time. Employment is an essential part of life and an inability to work due to disability has many negative effects. Occupational health physiotherapists need to conduct thorough assessments to determine fitness to return to work for patients with these conditions. This course introduces this role of the healthcare professional and discusses the key features of an evidence based return to work assessment.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this course you will be able to:

• describe the impact of musculoskeletal conditions on work
• identify six reasons why work is important for an individual
• summarise the role of the occupational health physiotherapist in fitness to return to work assessments
• choose an appropriate set of assessment tools to include in a fitness to return to work assessment
• justify the use of functional tests in a fitness to return to work assessment

Target audience

This course is aimed at Physiotherapy and Physical Therapy clinicians, students and assistants. Other interested professionals such as athletic trainers, occupational therapists, nurses or medical doctors interested in this subject are also invited to participate.

Practicalities

• Availability - this course is online and can be completed on your own schedule.
• Hours of Learning - No deadlines are applied to this course and it can be started and completed in your own time according to your personal schedule. We expect the required elements to take around 1-1.5 hours depending on your schedule and learning style. Additionally there are many optional resources provided and if you choose to review these the course could take longer to complete.
• Types of Activities - This course includes instructional and/or practical videos, reading activities, AI supported learning activities, reflection, evaluation forms, a quiz and additional resources.
• Certificates - At the end of the course, when you have completed all of the required elements, you will be able to download a certificate of completion and 1.1 Plus points will be added to your personalised learning dashboard.

Instructor financial and non-financial disclosures

Catherine Albert: No relevant relationships disclosed by instructor.

Accessibility and Non-Discrimination Policy

Physiopedia Plus is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible learning environment for all participants. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, national origin, religion, sex, disability, military status, sexual orientation or age in any aspect of our continuing education services. We are dedicated to ensuring that all learners can fully participate in our programmes. Participants who require accommodations or have special needs are encouraged to contact us with details so that we can make all reasonable efforts to meet these requirements.