Title: Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE)
Headings: Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE)
9 Articles in Volume 10, Issue #4
Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE)
Selecting The Appropriate Test
FCEs Current Scope
Measurement Properties of the FCE
Responsiveness and Reliability of the FCE
Impairment/Disability Testing
Conclusion

Content: Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE)
9 Articles in Volume 10, Issue #4
Chaos (Nonlinear Dynamics) and Migraine
Enhancement of Nerve Regeneration by Therapeutic Laser
Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE)
Making Practical Sense of Cytochrome P450
Non-pharmacologic Treatment of Shingles
Pain, Neurotechnology, and the Treatment-enhancement Debate
The New Age of Prolotherapy
Treating Myofacial and Other Idiopathic Head and Neck Pain
Treatment of Painful Cutaneous Wounds
Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE)
While not yet precise enough as a predictive tool, FCE can be combined with other sources of information such as medical, rehabilitative and diagnostic data to help resolve issues of compensability, disability and employability. By Tiziano Marovino, DPT, MPH, DAIPM
The functional capacity evaluation (FCE) has evolved in many ways since its inception in the 1980s when the work capacity test was becoming the normative test to evaluate disability and return to work status. 1 In our quest to be able to identify applicants who might be at higher risk for lower spine injuries once employed, we began utilizing various forms of pre-employment testing including radiographic screening. 2 As we all know, this specific practice was short-lived and pre-employment screening as an evaluation tool has subsequently been abolished with the advent of research showing a poor correlation between radiographic findings and risk of future injury. 3 Radiologic abnormalities in the musculoskeletal system have not been demonstrated to have any significant predictive capabilities for future risk of injury and, along with legislative changes—most notably the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and it’s antecedents—have led to the demise of pre-employment screening efforts. 4
The most politically correct post-ADA terminology for workplace testing is pre-placement screening. Today, the applicant is hired and then tested (in that order) and a decision made as to whether they can safely and effectively perform the job. The “fit for duty” assessment is performed after the hiring, and not before, as was the case in the past. For the remaining sections of this report, the terms FCE, physical capacity evaluation (PCE), and work capacity evaluation (WCE) will be used to denote separate but distinct (although interrelated) testing formats. The PCE is a physical capacity evaluation that identifies basic human motion parameters, both quantitatively and qualitatively—such as muscle strength, endurance, flexibility, stamina, power, balance, coordination and proprioception.