Work Hardening Physical Therapy

Work hardening physical therapy generally incorporates the following components:

1. An interdisciplinary team: A work hardening program involves multiple healthcare professionals (rather than a single healthcare professional directing treatment or therapy), based on the type of injury and the demands of the employee's job.
2. An individualized plan: The employee, the employee's supervisors(s), and the interdisciplinary team develop a plan of measurable goals that will show the employee's return-to-work progress. The plan establishes the starting point for the employee and sets expectations for when the employee is likely to return to full duty. If an employee isn't achieving the goals, the plan triggers an evaluation of whether it is in fact reasonable to expect that the employee will be able to return to full duty.
3. Structured activities: A work hardening program sets up activities either outside of or in the workplace that are selected to improve the employee's function and return him or her to full duty. Examples of this might include physical therapy to improve strength in the injured body part or working progressively longer days to improve the employee's endurance.
4. Education: As part of the employee's recovery process, he or she receives training on how to prevent reinjury, including ergonomic information, work pacing, and other safety and injury prevention training.