The Goal of Work Conditioning
If your work includes a lot of physical labor or effort, particularly heavy lifting or similar activities, you’ll discover pretty quickly that you lose some of your strength and physical endurance as you recover from an injury. If you try to return to work without adequate preparation, you risk further injury. A well-constructed work conditioning program can help you restore the physical capability to properly perform your job with minimum risk.
What Is a Work Conditioning Program Like?
The objective of a work conditioning program is to bring you back to the physical condition you were in before your injury. The program is often intensive, but in the beginning, your work will begin at an appropriate level to avoid overtaxing your body and then increase gradually. At full participation, you can expect exercises and activities four to eight hours a day, five days a week. Most work conditioning programs last two to four weeks. The practitioners overseeing your program will help you establish goals that are directly tied to work duties, and they should regularly monitor and test you to ensure that you are making necessary progress.
As a part of your work conditioning, you may participate in a wide range of training and therapy:
- Cardiovascular training to build endurance
- Circuit weight training to regain strength
- Nutritional counseling
- Vocational therapy
- Occupational therapy
While the goal is to get you back to work, you’ll also want to keep the strength and endurance you build. Accordingly, many work conditioning programs involve home exercise training, so you can continue to maintain strength and endurance after you return to work.
Contact Us to Set Up an Appointment
Let us help you take steps to return to peak performance at work! Call Advantage Healthcare Systems toll-free at 1-877-487-8289 or fill out the form provided below to schedule an assessment. We offer locations across Texas, including Fort Worth, Dallas and San Antonio.
