Treatment

Work Kinetics

Are Injury Costs Derailing Profit and Productivity?

Injury Prevention and Management

Work Kinetics is a program developed by Therapeutic Associates to provide employers with programs and services that reduce the direct and indirect costs associated with workers’ compensation and group healthcare. The program assists patient’s return to work and decreases symptoms associated with workstations that do not provide adequate postural support. Work Kinetics provides a continuum of products and services that have been designed to effectively prevent and manage occupational injuries and to promote employee health and fitness.

A Brief Summary of Programs Offered

Therapeutic Associates’ Work Kinetics program offers a comprehensive package of products and services to help companies reduce injuries and the costs associated with workers’ compensation and group healthcare premiums. 

Injury Management
Once an injury occurs, the most effective way to control the associated direct and indirect costs is to provide aggressive Therapeutic Interventions and injury management by returning patients to and maintaining pre-injury physical condition and strength, supporting and strengthening the injury and surrounding tissues, and involving our patients in the formulation of their treatment plan and rehabilitation goals.

Physical Testing
Following an occupational injury, employers and injured employees have many questions and concerns about the short-term and long-term effects of the injury and an employee’s ability to safely return to the job-at-injury.

Therapeutic Associates provides Physical/Functional Capacity Evaluations (PCE/FCE), Work Capacity Evaluations (WCE), Physical Demand Evaluations, and Post-Offer/Pre-Placement Screenings utilizing the Ergoscience™ Physical Work Performance Evaluation and Quantitative Job Demands Analysis systems. The Ergoscience systems incorporate the United States Department of Labor’s Dictionary of Occupational Titles’ definitions to determine the physical demands of a job and its corresponding essential job tasks, and to measure a worker’s ability to perform essential job tasks safely. Based on objective, scientific research that has been published in peer-reviewed journals, the results are proven to be statistically reliable and valid and to withstand legal scrutiny.

Therapeutic Interventions
At Work Kinetics, our primary goal is to prevent occupational injuries. When injuries do occur, Therapeutic Associates offers the highest quality patient care and customer satisfaction at more than 60 outpatient clinics throughout the Pacific Northwest region.

Our Physical and Occupational Therapists are the most skilled and experienced in the industry, and nearly all have specialized training and advanced certifications in manual therapy, hand therapy, occupational rehabilitation, and/or ergonomics. They provide individualized treatment plans and goals in addition to ongoing communication with employees, physicians, insurers, and employers to ensure successful return to productive work in the shortest time possible.

Injury Prevention
At Therapeutic Associates we understand that in today’s competitive marketplace, the costs associated with occupational injury, employee absenteeism, and group health premiums must be controlled for companies to remain productive and profitable. Therapeutic Associates’ Work Kinetics offers a selection of effective programs and services to assist companies in the management and prevention of occupational injuries and promotion of employee health and fitness.

Our Work Kinetic specialists provide workstation assessments for employees in office, industrial, and manufacturing settings. Work Kinetic specialists will observe and assess furniture, equipment, and work habits to provide comprehensive recommendations for changes to the work environment that enhance proper ergonomic practices. Additional Work Kinetic services include, but are not limited to: early intervention programs, office ergonomic education classes for groups of employees, and Stretch & Flex programs for healthy workplace environments. By implementing programs that simultaneously prevent and manage musculoskeletal injuries, our clients have experienced a significant reduction in workers’ compensation and group healthcare premiums.

Consulting
Today, managers of employee health and safety (EHS) programs face increasing numbers of employees and risks. Therapeutic Associates’ Work Kinetics program offers a wide selection of customized injury prevention and injury management products and services designed to help EHS managers effectively reduce the risk of occupational injuries while efficiently managing the rehabilitation and return to work of injured employees.
Work Kinetics specialists are physical and occupational therapists with advanced training and certifications that have spent their careers treating occupational injuries. As part of our no cost, no obligation initial consultation, a Work Kinetics specialist will come to your site to review company injury/accident history, discuss the types of products and services that will best meet your needs, and summarize the programs and services we offer. These services can be implemented autonomously or with our assistance.

Employee Health Promotion

The past 5 years have seen a dramatic increase in the focus on injury prevention and health maintenance during sport, recreation, and leisure activities. At Therapeutic Associates’ Work Kinetics, we offer a variety of health promotion services to help employees understand how musculoskeletal injuries occur and how easily they can be prevented. Flexibility screenings, strength testing, stretch programs, and our Learning Lunch series are provided by physical and occupational therapists who are passionate about sharing their knowledge of fitness, sports, and injury prevention.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports that more than 40% of work-related injuries resulting in lost work days are due to strains and sprains of the spine. In the US, back injuries cost businesses billions of dollars each year in medical as well as indirect costs, such as lost productivity and decreased morale.

Back Basics DVD

Back Basics, an educational video produced by Therapeutic Associates, is designed to improve manual material handling safety and reduce back injuries in the workplace. The 34-minute DVD assists companies to reduce back injuries and improve manual material handling safety. Anatomy and Physiology are reviewed using detailed, lifelike illustrations to enhance understanding of neutral posture and increase awareness of the importance of back safety on and off the job. Real World Scenarios address challenges frequently encountered in the workplace during manual material handling tasks. It includes pre and post-tests, participant handouts, and illustrations of stretching and strengthening exercises.

Work Kinetics programs and services are customized to meet the needs and goals of our clients.

“We are happy to no longer have ergonomics consulting on our Plan, as we now have it built into our culture and have committed to individual consultations with all new employees and repeat consultations with others as needs arise.”

- Jill Oswald, Administrative Partner – McDonald Jacobs, PC

Participating Clinics