Imagine you have a job as a construction worker, but you incur a knee injury during a game of soccer. After surgery and some physical therapy, the injury is cured. However, you are still hesitant to go back to work, because you might put too much strain on your knee. Likewise, an increasing number of individuals with injuries to their locomotor system do not return to work or sports, even though they have been declared physically healthy. The polyclinic ‘Mens en Arbeid’ (PMA) of the AMC has extensive expertise on the factors that determine whether a patient will or will not return to work. The departments Orthopedics and Radiology see a lot of patients that might need guidance, already at an early stage, in turning back to work, but are not offered this guidance. This project aims to improve the rehabilitation of patients with injuries to their locomotor system by addressing occupational issues in an earlier stage in their care process.
By increasing awareness about the effects of early intervention and work-related factors on rehabilitation, both PMA and Orthopedics and Radiology could profit from a more succesfull treatment. Furthermore, the implementation of Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs), to actively monitor the rehabilitation process, could supply both practitioners and patient with usable data. This could help in getting people back to work and sports as successfully and rapidly as possible.
