Return-to-work guide
Returning to work after a fracture
A fracture usually comes with clear restrictions — on lifting, weight-bearing, driving or the use of one limb — and those restrictions tend to change as your treating doctor reviews you. A good return-to-work plan moves with them. Nexus Rehab coordinates that plan so your duties always match the capacity your certificate records.
Building suitable duties around your restrictions
With a fracture, the certificate of capacity often sets out specific limits: a weight you should not exceed, a limb to keep out of use, tasks to avoid for now. Suitable duties are built directly around those documented restrictions. If one arm is immobilised, that might mean one-handed or seated tasks; if standing is limited, duties that can be done from a desk. Nexus Rehab translates what your treating doctor has written into work that is genuinely doable, and confirms it with your employer so there is no guesswork on either side.
A graduated return as capacity is reviewed
Capacity after a fracture is rarely fixed — it is reviewed by your treating doctor and updated on each certificate of capacity. A graduated return to work is built to follow that: hours and duties that increase in step with what you are cleared to do, rather than on a set timetable. Before a return to full, unrestricted duties, a functional capacity evaluation can measure what you can safely manage against the real demands of your role, so the step up is based on evidence rather than assumption.
Keeping the plan aligned with your doctor
Because the picture changes, the plan needs regular alignment. A medical case conference brings your treating doctor, you and the coordinator to the same discussion, so duties and timeframes reflect the current certificate. Your doctor directs the medical care throughout; Nexus Rehab coordinates the return-to-work side around it. Under the NSW workers compensation scheme — and for road injuries under CTP or icare — approved services are funded by the insurer at no cost to you.
This is general information about returning to work, not medical advice. Your treating doctor directs your medical care — Nexus Rehab coordinates the return-to-work side and works to their certificate of capacity.