MEASURING RESIDUAL FUNCTIONAL-CAPACITY IN CHRONIC LOW-BACK-PAIN PATIENTS BASED ON THE DICTIONARY OF OCCUPATIONAL TITLES

Study Design. This study designed and tested a functional battery base d on the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). Objectives. Such a b attery can be used to measure residual functional capacity (RFC) in ch ronic pain patients (CPP) and results can be matched against the deman d minimum functional capacities (DMFC) of DOT jobs. Summary of Backgro und Data. Physicians have difficulty translating medical impairment in to functional limitation and thereby establishing the RFC of CPPs. Met hods. The DOT, a USA government publication, provides information abou t physical demands of every USA job according to 36 factors and subfac tors. The authors defined and developed a functional battery based on these factors/subfactors. This battery was tested on 67 consecutive CP Ps to determine the percentage of CPPs able to pass specific job facto rs and the full battery and return to some DOT job, and evaluated the effects of pain on battery performance. The data were factor analyzed. Results. The battery determined of CPPs could perform DOT job factors and had the necessary RFC to be placed in a DOT job. The vast majorit y of CPPs could not pass the full battery and the presence of pain and original job classification predicted whether a CPP could perform a j ob factor. Factor analyses grouped the factors into four independent c ategories supporting the design of the battery. Conclusion. The batter y can assess whether CPPs are able to return to work.