DACRB key terms

A standardized battery of physical performance tests used to measure a person's ability to carry out work-related tasks such as lifting, carrying, and sustained posture, and to compare results with job demands.

A structured, work-focused rehabilitation program that uses real or simulated job tasks, conditioning, and education to restore the strength, endurance, and movement needed to return to a specific occupation.

An interdisciplinary, work-oriented program that combines physical conditioning with pain management, vocational counseling, and task simulation, typically for patients with prolonged work absence and complex psychosocial barriers to return to work.

The point at which a patient's condition has stabilized and further treatment is unlikely to produce meaningful functional or structural improvement; often used to trigger impairment rating and case closure decisions.

A numeric or percentage estimate of permanent loss of bodily function assigned after maximum medical improvement, usually following a jurisdiction-specific guide, and used in disability and compensation determinations.

A written, time-phased agreement specifying duties, hours, restrictions, and review dates that guides a patient's transition from rehabilitation back to employment, developed collaboratively with the worker, employer, and clinician.

Temporary or permanent job accommodations that change tasks, hours, equipment, or scheduling so an injured worker can perform productive work within current physical restrictions while recovery continues.

A collaborative process of assessing needs, planning, coordinating, and monitoring services and resources to meet a patient's health and vocational goals efficiently and safely across the rehabilitation episode.

The deliberate organization of activities among providers, the patient, and family so that care is delivered in a coherent sequence, avoiding duplication, gaps, and conflicting advice.

A group of professionals from different disciplines, such as chiropractic, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and medicine, who jointly plan and deliver rehabilitation for a shared patient population.

A rehabilitation model in which team members from different professions integrate assessments and treatment goals into a single coordinated plan, communicating continuously rather than working in parallel silos.

A comprehensive, often intensive program combining graded exercise, cognitive-behavioral approaches, and education to improve function and reduce disability in patients with persistent musculoskeletal pain.

A progressive approach in which activity or exercise intensity is increased in planned, submaximal increments based on time or quota rather than on pain levels, aiming to build tolerance without flare-ups.

A behavioral treatment in which a patient gradually and repeatedly confronts feared movements or activities in a hierarchy, starting with low-anxiety tasks, to reduce fear and restore function.

Beliefs that physical activity or work will worsen a painful condition, leading to avoidance, deconditioning, and prolonged disability; commonly screened with questionnaires such as the FABQ.

Psychosocial risk factors, such as catastrophizing, fear-avoidance, distress, or low work satisfaction, that predict poor recovery from musculoskeletal pain and signal the need for targeted intervention.

A framework that views pain and disability as resulting from interacting biological, psychological, and social factors, guiding assessment and treatment beyond tissue pathology alone.

A self-management strategy in which a patient breaks tasks into manageable portions, alternates activity and rest, and avoids cycles of overactivity followed by prolonged rest.

Techniques that reduce the physical demand of daily tasks through planning, ergonomic setup, assistive equipment, and efficient body mechanics, enabling people with limited endurance to complete essential activities.

A systematic evaluation of a workstation, tool, or task relative to the worker's body dimensions and movement patterns, identifying mismatches that contribute to strain and recommending corrective changes.

Concrete changes to the physical work environment, such as adjusting desk height, seating, monitor position, or tool handles, to reduce biomechanical stress and accommodate a worker's limitations.

A validated instrument or test, such as the Oswestry Disability Index or a numeric pain rating scale, used to quantify a patient's status at baseline and follow-up to judge treatment response.

The smallest change in an outcome score that a patient would perceive as meaningful, used to decide whether an observed improvement exceeds measurement error and reflects real benefit.

The initial systematic collection of history, physical findings, and functional scores before treatment begins, providing the reference against which later progress and outcomes are compared.

A scheduled or triggered re-evaluation of symptoms, physical findings, and functional status to determine whether the plan of care is working and whether goals or interventions should change.

A written document stating diagnosis, measurable goals, planned interventions, visit frequency, expected duration, and criteria for discharge, reviewed and updated throughout the episode of care.

The process of preparing a patient to leave active care, including achievement of goals, a home program, referrals, and arrangements for follow-up, documented before the episode ends.

Planned, structured physical activity prescribed to improve strength, endurance, flexibility, balance, or motor control, with dosage and progression tailored to the patient's impairments and goals.

A method of building strength by repeatedly loading muscles against resistance and systematically increasing that load as tolerance improves, following principles of overload and specificity.

Exercise that retrains the timing, coordination, and activation of stabilizing muscles, often starting with low-load precision tasks and progressing to functional, load-bearing movements.

Hands-on treatment techniques such as mobilization and manipulation applied to joints and soft tissues to reduce pain and restore motion, usually combined with exercise and education.

A high-velocity, low-amplitude thrust applied to a spinal joint to improve mobility and reduce pain, delivered after appropriate screening for contraindications and with informed consent.

Clinical signs or history findings, such as unexplained weight loss, night pain, neurological deficit, or fever, that suggest serious pathology and require urgent referral or imaging rather than routine care.

A validated decision tool that combines several examination findings to estimate the probability of a diagnosis or of responding to a specific treatment, supporting more targeted care.

The ability to perform activities of daily living and instrumental tasks without physical assistance from another person, often a central goal and discharge criterion in rehabilitation.

Routine self-care tasks such as bathing, dressing, transferring, toileting, and eating; their status is a core measure of function and rehabilitation need.

Loss of strength, endurance, and cardiovascular fitness resulting from reduced physical activity, often after injury or prolonged rest, and reversible through graded exercise.

A structured plan teaching a patient to recognize early warning signs, apply self-management strategies, and resume exercise or seek care promptly to avoid recurrence of symptoms.