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They do a lot of exercises and tests that involve the muscles/movements, trying to assess what you can and cant do and for how long.
Usually two steps: A Musculoskeletal evaluation which looks specifically at strength, posture, flexibility, gait, sensation, and reflexes.
Then the actual FCE:
Usually goes something like this--
repetitive lifting capacity at various levels
repetitive push, pull, and carrying capacities
hand grip strength
tolerance for elevated work
prolonged trunk flexion in sitting and standing
prolonged trunk rotation in sitting and standing
prolonged crawl, knee and sustained crouch positions
repetitive squat
tolerance for prolonged sitting and standing
maximum walking, stairs and stepladder capacity
balance
hand coordination
They use treadmills, those little gadgets that you try to squeeze closed with your hanRAB, little puzzle-like boarRAB where you have to put squares in squares, lol (sounRAB stupid but they do it!), they use ramps- you walk up and down them, squat on them, lift wooden boxes up to shelves, walk up steps, they use weighted balls that you have to throw/or position where they ask....
It is supposed to be a "safe" way of assessing someones skills to go back to work but there were a lot of people that came in a day or two after those tests saying the whole ordeal threw them in a whole new pain threshold!
SO Be Careful and when you cant do something, DONT do it, and if it hurts, Say So! Or you might end up in a major flare!
Hope that helps!
