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Fitness Testing and FCE

Physical Activity, Fitness and Lifestyle Appraisal

West Coast Kinesiology utilizes the CSEP Physical Activity Training for Health (CSEP-PATH) health-related physical fitness assessment and counselling strategy to help our clients make permanent positive changes in their life. The CSEP-PATH represents a series of standardized testing and counselling procedures developed by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) that is appropriate for the general public (refer to www.csep.ca for more info). The assessment is commonly used as a measure for the health-related fitness of the general population and is administered on over a million Canadians each year by trained CSEP health and fitness professionals (CSEP, 2003).

The CSEP-PATH appraisal includes pre-appraisal screening and objective measures of physical activity participation, metabolic fitness, body composition, aerobic fitness, musculoskeletal fitness, and back fitness. Following the assessment an individually tailored physical activity participation counselling session that focuses on the results of the CSEP-PATH assessment can be administered. The counselling session functions to: (1) educate participants regarding the health-related importance of each and every component within the CSEP-PATH and the health benefits associated with physical activity participation, (2) provide participants with Canadian standardized health-related interpretations of their personal fitness results, (3) and setting health-related goals based on individual measurements with reference to: (i) Canadian normative fitness data, (ii) Canada’s physical activity guide, (iii) Canada’s food guide, and (iv) personal issues (e.g., activity preference) and personal daily/weekly schedules, and finally (4) provide clients with a wealth of resources and motivation to take their health to the next level!

Upon completion of this assessment you will receive a summary or ‘snapshot’ of your current health related fitness and an ‘action plan’ to help you reach your health goals. The fitness test takes average of 1 hour to complete. For the combination of testing and counseling it will take 2 one-hour sessions to complete with an additional fee for counseling.

More specifically, the new CSEP-PATH includes the following assessments:

Baseline Measurements

Anthropometric Measurements

Aerobic Fitness

Musculoskeletal Fitness

Cost: $125 for the testing session

Some health plans may cover the cost of a fitness assessment.

THIS IS A TEST THAT IS USED BY THE JUSTICE INSTITUTE OF BC AS PART OF THEIR ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS TO THE FIREFIGHTING PROGRAM. Contact the JIBC if you have questions about being currently required to take this test.

https://www.jibc.ca/areas-of-study/firefighting/fire-safety-studies

FCE Functional Capacity Evaluation

A functional capacity evaluation (FCE) is set of tests, practices and observations that are combined to determine the ability of the evaluated person to function in a variety of circumstances, most often employment, in an objective manner. They are also required by insurers in when an insured person applies for disability payments or a disability pension in the case of permanent disability.

An FCE can be used to determine fitness to work following an extended period of medical leave. If an employee is unable to return to work, the FCE provides information on prognosis, and occupational rehabilitation measures that may be possible. An FCE can also be used to help identify changes to employee workload, or modifications to working conditions such as ergonomic measures, that the employer may be able to undertake in an effort to accommodate an employee with a disability or medical condition. FCEs are needed to determine if an employee is able to resume working in a capacity “commensurate with his or her skills or abilities” before the disability or medical condition was diagnosed.

FCEs may be required by law for some employers before an employee can return to work, as well as by insurers before insurance payments can be made. FCEs are also used to determine eligibility for disability insurance, or pension eligibility in the event that an employee is permanently unable to return to work. Most evaluations are 4 to 8 hours in duration. A much shorter evaluation of critical job demands can also be done which tests discrete movements that are crucial to the performance of the job in question. This is ideal for the employee who has a specific injury or disability which may impede only a few of the many duties they are required to perform. For example, it can be a series of lifts to different heights or kneeling and crouching tolerance or manual dexterity and strength.

During most full FCEs, the following measurements are taken: