Functional capacity evaluations for the prevention of occupational re‐injuries in injured workers
Abstract
Background
Functional capacity evaluation (FCE) has been widely used to assess workers’ physical state of readiness to return to work (RTW) after an injury and to make recommendations for the time and capacity in which they might return. FCEs are also used to prevent re‐injury after RTW. Despite being a commonly used tool, little is known about how effective FCE is in preventing occupational injuries.
Objectives
To assess the effectiveness of FCE‐based return to work recommendations in preventing occupational re‐injuries of injured workers compared with no intervention or alternative interventions.
Search methods
We searched the following electronic databases: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library 2009, Issue 4), MEDLINE (1966 to December 2009), EMBASE (1980 to December 2009), CINAHL (1980 to December 2009), PsycINFO (1983 to December 2009) and PEDro (1929 to December 2009). The searches were not restricted by date, language or type of publication.
Selection criteria
We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of FCE‐based return to work recommendations for preventing occupational re‐injuries in injured workers.
Data collection and analysis
Four authors (NM, ES, JV, ML), in pairs, independently selected studies for inclusion, extracted data and assessed risk of bias.
Main results
We found no studies that compared FCE to no intervention. We found one RCT with 372 participants in which a short‐form of one FCE was compared to the standard long‐form FCE (Isernhagen Work Systems). Outcomes were recurrence rates of re‐injuries. There was no significant difference between the two forms of FCE.
We rated the overall quality of the evidence as low.
Authors' conclusions
There is no evidence for or against the effectiveness of FCE compared to no intervention. A short version of FCE showed similar effectiveness to a long version in preventing re‐injury. More RCTs are needed.
Plain language summary
Functional capacity evaluations for preventing re‐injuries in employees on returning to work
Functional capacity evaluation (FCE) is a method to assess physical capacity to perform certain tasks. It is believed that FCE can prevent re‐injury if injured workers are assessed before they return to work and get proper recommendations on how to perform work tasks.
We found no studies that compared workers given FCE to workers given no intervention to evaluate the effectiveness in preventing re‐injury of FCE. We found one RCT involving 372 injured workers that compared a short version of the FCE to an extensive version in which more bodily functions were tested. The short‐form FCE produced a 43% reduction in physical assessment time. However, there was no difference between the two forms of FCE in terms of prevention of recurrence of occupational injuries. We therefore concluded that there is no evidence for or against the effectiveness of the length of the FCE in ensuring that those who do return will not suffer an injury relapse.
