Workers' Comp has sent me to a physical therapy program to get me back to my job. I'm all for it, but I'm not sure my therapist really believes in me. The first day I was there, he asked me, Do you think your work status is going to be limited down the road by your health status? Why would he ask me this unless he thinks I can't make it?
Health care professionals are trained to conduct a pre-rehab assessment on all Workers' Compensation patients. The idea is to 1) help identify patients who may have trouble getting back to work despite rehab and 2) create a plan of care just for you to improve your chances of getting back to work. In order to do this, the questions they ask have been previously tested to determine reliability. Studies have shown that two stable predictive factors of return-to-work can be used. These include employment status at the start of your rehab program and amount of sick leave used in the last one-year before entering rehab. Questions like the one you were asked help get at this information. The therapist relies on your self-assessment and self-report as much as on the results of formal tests given. It's not an indication that he or she doesn't believe in you.
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