Neck & Upper Back Pain
Measuring Motor Performance
Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE)
Who Benefits from them?
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Individuals who are looking to return to work after an injury or illness
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Individuals who are looking for vocational rehabilitation services
The Role of OT in FCE:
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Determine the necessary skills and abilities required to perform different job duties
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Determine whether there is a match between the client’s abilities and the requirements of the work related tasks
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Goals for rehabilitation training and discharge planning for eventual return back to work
Components of an FCE:
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Often begins with a client interview, medical record interview and musculoskeletal screening
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Functional testing includes items such as:
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Graded material-handling activities: lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling
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Position tolerance activities: sitting, standing, walking, balancing, reaching, stooping, kneeling, object handling/manipulation, fingering, hand grasping, and hand manipulation
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Hand dexterity, hand coordination, endurance and other job related tasks
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Includes client report of pain levels
See the following video and website page for further information about Fucntional Capacity Evaluations:
http://www.aota.org/about-occupational-therapy/professionals/wi/capacity-eval.aspx
Tips on Upper Back and Neck Exercises
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The gains in endurance, mobility, and strength in the upper back and neck are dependent on the specific exercises that are completed
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Ex. If an individual wants to gain strength in their upper back or neck, they must do strength exercises, no gains will be made in strength if endurance exercises are completed
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In a study completed by O’Leary et al. (2012) examining endurance, mobility and strength exercises for clients with neck pain found a decrease in pain and disability in all three exercise ground
The preceding information was retreived from the following scholarly article: