Assess pain, movement, strength, and functional limitations after an on-the-job injury, with attention to the demands of your work.
At Greenbelt Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine, we listen to your concerns, assess your movement, and develop a plan around the activities that matter to you.
A Plan for Your Next ChapterYour movement. Your routine. Your goals.
Work-Focused Support
Understand What Your Work Injury Has Changed.
An injury can affect several parts of the workday: lifting a package, standing at a workstation, climbing stairs, gripping a tool, or repeatedly getting into a vehicle. A work injury evaluation looks at the particular movements and activities that have become difficult, not just the location of pain.
At Greenbelt Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine, your therapist listens to your injury history and reviews relevant medical guidance before selecting appropriate tests. We discuss the onset and behavior of symptoms, examine movement and function, and connect the findings with your job requirements. The evaluation helps identify treatment priorities, establish baseline measures, and decide whether additional medical review is needed.
Care decisions connect your clinical findings with the duties and activities that matter to you.
Your Job Gives the Assessment Context
Tell us about typical loads, work heights, repeated movements, shift length, walking distances, and equipment use. A job description can help, but a clear explanation of your usual tasks is also useful. Mention temporary or modified duties and the movements your medical provider currently limits.
A Baseline for Tracking Progress
Depending on the injury, baseline findings may include joint motion, strength, walking tolerance, or performance of an appropriate task. These measures help your therapist compare progress over time and explain why treatment is being progressed, changed, or continued.
A Focused Examination, Not an FCE
A routine work injury evaluation guides clinical treatment. A Functional Capacity Evaluation is a separate, structured assessment with its own referral purpose and testing process. We can discuss which service has been requested so you are scheduled for the appropriate appointment.
A Plan You Can Understand
Before leaving, ask which limitations the plan will address, what activities are currently appropriate, and what to practice between appointments. Some patients may begin education or suitable treatment during the evaluation visit; the content of the visit depends on findings and approved services.
What to Expect
A Clear Path Forward
01 /
Tell Us What Happened
Describe the workplace incident, the duties affected, your symptoms since the injury, and the care you have already received. Bring current restrictions and relevant medical instructions.
02 /
Assess Relevant Abilities
Your therapist selects movement, strength, and functional tests appropriate to your injury. Testing respects healing precautions and your symptom response rather than requiring you to push through every task.
03 /
Agree on Your Next Steps
We explain the findings, discuss measurable goals and proposed treatment, and identify questions that need coordination with your medical provider or claim team.
Before Your Appointment
Prepare for Your Visit
Bring photo identification, your referral when applicable, injury date, claim and adjuster information, any authorization, a current medication list, and relevant medical or surgical instructions. A job description, essential duties list, and current work-status note are helpful. Wear clothing that allows access to the injured area and comfortable movement. Please arrive 15 minutes early and confirm scheduling requirements with the office.
Call our team before your appointment if you are unsure which documents or approvals are needed.
No. Testing is selected for your symptoms, referral, approved body areas, and medical precautions. Tell your therapist about all concerns; additional approval or medical assessment may be needed for an area outside the current plan.
Does an evaluation determine whether my claim is accepted?
No. A clinical evaluation describes findings and rehabilitation needs. Claim acceptance, coverage, and authorization are separate matters handled by the responsible parties.
Is this the same as a Functional Capacity Evaluation?
No. An initial therapy evaluation guides treatment. An FCE is a separate assessment of selected functional abilities, generally ordered for a specific work-capacity question.
Should I wait until I feel able to do every job task?
You can discuss an evaluation while tasks remain limited. Testing is adapted to your current abilities and restrictions; it is not a requirement to demonstrate unrestricted work performance.
Assess pain, movement, strength, and functional limitations after an on-the-job injury, with attention to the demands of your work.
Your therapist reviews how the injury occurred, current symptoms, medical restrictions, and essential job tasks. Findings help establish a starting point and a practical rehabilitation plan for approved care.
A treatment plan tailored to your work injury, stage of healing, current abilities, and the movements required by your job.
Care may combine targeted exercise, hands-on treatment, movement training, and education. Your therapist adjusts the plan using functional progress, your feedback, and the medical restrictions that apply to your case.
Your job places specific demands on your body. Explore how rehabilitation may address injuries from workplace lifting, repeated tasks, falls, impacts, and work-related vehicle accidents. Each area below connects injury examples with practical goals for your approved job duties.
Your evaluation, diagnosed injury, medical restrictions, and approved body areas guide treatment. These examples do not establish whether a condition is work-related or covered by a claim. We can discuss your referral and authorization before care begins.
Work-Related Neck Injuries
A sudden pull while handling a load, an overhead task, or a fall at work may leave your neck painful and guarded. Repeated job tasks and sustained working positions can also be relevant to symptoms and should be discussed during your evaluation.
Work-Injury Examples May Include
Cervical muscle strains or ligament sprains
Neck stiffness following a workplace fall or impact
Medically diagnosed cervical nerve irritation
How Physical Therapy May Help
We assess neck movement, shoulder-girdle control, and the positions required by your job. Rehabilitation may combine permitted mobility work, targeted strengthening, and practice turning your head for work tasks such as checking surroundings or positioning materials.
Work-Recovery Goals May Include
Improve head-turning tolerance for approved duties
Build neck and shoulder endurance for job positions
Back symptoms may begin during lifting, pushing, pulling, handling a patient, or a slip at work. Your therapist asks how the injury occurred, what loads and positions your job involves, and which duties have become difficult.
Work-Injury Examples May Include
Lumbar muscle strains or ligament sprains
Back contusions following a workplace fall
Diagnosed disc-related or radiating leg symptoms
How Physical Therapy May Help
Your plan may address back and hip mobility, trunk and leg strength, and controlled transitions before progressing to permitted lifting or carrying. We consider load height, reach distance, task repetition, and recovery between efforts rather than teaching one lifting rule for every situation.
Work-Recovery Goals May Include
Build tolerance for approved lifting and carrying
Practice controlled bending, turning, and transfers
A sudden lift, pull, twist, or loss of footing can overload a muscle or joint at work. The affected tissue and injury severity determine how much protection is needed and when loading can progress.
Work-Injury Examples May Include
Lifting- or pulling-related muscle strains
Joint sprains following a workplace twist or fall
Medically assessed partial muscle, tendon, or ligament tears
How Physical Therapy May Help
We focus on the injured area rather than using a generic exercise routine. Your plan may include protected motion, graded strengthening, joint control, and task practice that builds toward the force and repetition your approved duties require.
Work-Recovery Goals May Include
Restore permitted motion and tissue loading
Build strength for the specific injured area
Practice controlled work tasks before increasing demand
Reaching overhead, moving a heavy object, a sudden tug, or a direct impact at work can affect shoulder function. An injury may limit stocking shelves, handling equipment, pushing a cart, or supporting the arm through a shift.
Work-Injury Examples May Include
Shoulder strains and contusions
Rotator cuff injuries or tendon irritation
Post-surgical recovery for an approved shoulder injury
How Physical Therapy May Help
We work on the shoulder motion, shoulder-blade control, and arm strength appropriate to your diagnosis. Practice may progress from supported movement to reaching at a work-relevant height, handling a light object, or pushing and pulling within medical limits.
Repeated gripping, tool use, forceful forearm rotation, or bracing during a workplace fall may affect the elbow or wrist. We discuss the tools you use, the force each task requires, and whether repetition or position changes your symptoms.
Work-Injury Examples May Include
Elbow or wrist sprains and contusions
Tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, or wrist tendon irritation
Rehabilitation after a medically cleared fracture or repair
How Physical Therapy May Help
Treatment may address joint motion, forearm rotation, graded grip strength, and tolerance for handling tools or packages. Your therapist can help adapt task position and progress resistance while respecting restrictions on lifting, gripping, or repetitive use.
An injured hand can make sorting mail, opening containers, operating equipment, and manipulating small parts difficult. A workplace impact, jammed finger, gripping incident, or repetitive task needs assessment so rehabilitation matches the diagnosed injury.
Work-Injury Examples May Include
Hand or finger contusions and sprains
Medically evaluated tendon injuries
Stiffness after a healed fracture or approved hand surgery
How Physical Therapy May Help
Your plan may combine permitted finger and thumb motion, graded grip and pinch work, and coordination practice relevant to your job. Tendon repairs and fractures require particular protection; work simulation begins only at the level allowed by your medical team.
Work-Recovery Goals May Include
Restore permitted grasp, pinch, and finger motion
Practice job-related dexterity and object handling
Build tolerance for repeated tasks at an approved pace
A fall onto the hip, a sudden twist while carrying, or an awkward step at work can affect standing and walking. Your therapist considers the injury findings and the demands of climbing, transferring, carrying, or repeatedly entering a work vehicle.
Work-Injury Examples May Include
Hip contusions after a workplace fall
Hip flexor or groin strains
Rehabilitation following a medically managed hip injury or surgery
How Physical Therapy May Help
Care may address permitted hip motion, hip and leg strength, weight transfer, and walking mechanics. We gradually connect these abilities to tasks such as rising from a low seat, stepping into a vehicle, or carrying an approved load.
Work-Recovery Goals May Include
Improve work-related standing and walking tolerance
A trip, direct blow, twisting incident, or kneeling-related problem at work may leave the knee swollen, stiff, or difficult to trust. Delivery routes, stairs, warehouse walking, and repeated vehicle entry can make knee limitations especially noticeable.
Work-Injury Examples May Include
Knee contusions and ligament sprains
Diagnosed meniscus or ligament injuries
Rehabilitation after authorized knee surgery
How Physical Therapy May Help
We assess knee motion, thigh and hip strength, swelling-related movement limits, and step control. Treatment may progress toward stairs, repeated chair rises, controlled squatting, or kneeling only when the diagnosis and current restrictions allow.
An uneven surface, missed step, rolling ankle, or impact at work may disrupt walking and standing. We ask about the surfaces, footwear requirements, distance, and stair or ladder demands involved in your job.
Work-Injury Examples May Include
Ankle sprains and foot or ankle contusions
Medically evaluated tendon injuries
Recovery after a cleared fracture or ankle/foot surgery
How Physical Therapy May Help
Rehabilitation may address ankle motion, calf and foot strength, balance, and a suitable walking pattern. Progression can include controlled stepping, changes of direction, and increasing approved walking duration. Weight-bearing instructions guide every stage.
Work-Recovery Goals May Include
Build tolerance for approved standing and walking
Improve control on job-relevant surfaces
Practice permitted curbs, stairs, and direction changes
A collision while driving for work or another sudden workplace acceleration or impact may cause a whiplash-associated injury. Medical assessment is important before returning to driving, handling equipment, or other safety-sensitive duties.
Reduced neck movement control or endurance after the incident
How Physical Therapy May Help
Your therapist reviews the accident history and medical findings, then addresses permitted neck motion, coordination, and endurance. Work goals may include comfortable head turns, tolerance for driving positions, and gradual exposure to approved duties. Dizziness or neurological changes require appropriate medical review.
Work-Recovery Goals May Include
Regain head movement needed for approved duties
Build neck control and work-position tolerance
Follow a staged rehabilitation plan after the work accident
Persistent Pain & Mobility Limits After a Work Injury
After a work injury, pain, stiffness, weakness, or reduced confidence may continue to interfere with the workday. Rehabilitation starts by identifying the particular job tasks that remain difficult and reviewing the factors that may be limiting progress.
Work-Injury Examples May Include
Persistent musculoskeletal pain after a work injury
Stiffness after immobilization or an approved procedure
Weakness and reduced tolerance for work activities
How Physical Therapy May Help
We set measurable goals around approved duties, such as standing for a task, completing a walking route, or repeating a controlled lift. Treatment may combine graded exercise, mobility work, pacing, and work simulation; work conditioning may be considered when appropriate and authorized.
Work-Recovery Goals May Include
Build sustainable tolerance for approved duties
Develop a manageable activity and pacing plan
Track function and discuss remaining work limitations