Return-to-work guide
Returning to work after a shoulder injury
A shoulder injury tends to limit reaching, overhead work and repetitive arm movement, and your treating doctor sets those limits on your certificate of capacity. Nexus Rehab coordinates a return that keeps work inside them, adjusting tasks and equipment to fit. Your treating doctor directs the medical care; we organise the workplace side around it.
Matching the role to the doctor's restrictions
Many roles lean on the shoulder — reaching to shelves, lifting to height, or repetitive movement on a line or with tools. The plan starts by comparing what your role demands with what the certificate of capacity allows, then finds duties that fit. From the referral, Nexus connects you, your employer, the insurer and your healthcare team, and assesses the role against your current restrictions before anything is agreed. The scheme is built on recovery at work, so the aim is suitable work now within your limits rather than a wait until full duties are cleared. The plan is reviewed as your treating doctor updates the certificate.
Modified duties and worksite adjustments
Suitable duties often mean one-handed or lighter tasks, task rotation away from overhead or repetitive work, and changes to equipment or layout — storage brought to waist height, tools repositioned, a bench adjusted so the reach is no longer the problem. A workplace and ergonomic assessment looks at the real tasks and where they can be modified. For roles built around a movement you are restricted from, alternative duties can be arranged that keep you at work without relying on it. Nexus arranges these changes with your employer so the return stays inside the limits your doctor has set.
Building back up and confirming capacity
A graduated return increases reach, load and hours in stages, each stage matched to an updated certificate of capacity. Where it helps, a functional capacity evaluation can objectively show what you can safely manage at work, so duties are set on evidence rather than assumption. A medical case conference keeps you, your employer, the insurer and your healthcare team working to one plan. As your doctor clears more, the duties widen to match. At no point does Nexus set duties beyond the limits your treating doctor has set.
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.