An FCE is an evaluation performed to determine an individual’s ability to return to work safely.  It is a tool most often utilized after an injury or for pre-employment screening.  It can also be utilized as an adjunct for disability determinations and to establish treatment plans and/or monitor progress with industrial rehabilitation.

An FCE typically requires 3-4 hours and involves many physical tests which must be observed, recorded, and extrapolated to an 8-hour day.  An FCE should be safe, objective, feasible, reliable, and valid while also pertaining to "real world" demands.

There are three categories of FCE:

1. Comprehensive (Any Occupation) - Testing is done to determine what occupation a worker can do based on the 20 physical demands described by the Department of Labor, Dictionary of Occupational Titles (D.O.T.)


2. Occupation Specific FCE - Testing comprised of job demands for a specific job titles as listed in the D.O.T. (any generic type of work)


3. Job Specific FCE - Tests only the demands listed in the clients specific job description.

Carolina Physical Therapy Associates performs a thorough musculoskeletal evaluation on each client as part of the FCE process.  This information is then correlated to function and a comparison is made between these measures and function to assist in determining client effort with testing and ability to perform and/or return to prior work levels.