Return-to-work decisions following musculoskeletal injury are often influenced by timelines or symptom resolution rather than demonstrated physical readiness. In contrast, modern return-to-sport decision making has increasingly shifted toward the use of objective performance markers to assess an athlete’s readiness to safely return to competition. This presentation will explore how principles from high-performance sport rehabilitation can inform occupational injury management. Participants will learn how objective capacity testing and functional measures can be used to track meaningful progress during rehabilitation and guide return-to-work decisions. The session will also discuss how measurable improvements in strength, endurance, and functional capacity can positively influence worker confidence, motivation, and engagement throughout the recovery process.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the limitations of timeline-based approaches to return-to-work decision making following musculoskeletal injury.
2. Explain how principles from return-to-sport research and high-performance sport culture use objective performance markers rather than timelines, and how these concepts can be translated to occupational rehabilitation.
3. Identify practical objective capacity measures and functional tests that clinicians can use to monitor rehabilitation progress and guide return-to-work decision making.