Objectives and legal framework: The objectives
of a job-oriented concept for medical
rehabilitation of orthopaedic patients (MBO),
formulated by the WHO and the German social
welfare legislation, are described. They
involve more than curative efforts, aiming at
unrestricted occupational (and social) reintegration.
Concept: The MBO concept incorporates the
conventional elements of orthopaedic rehabilitation
complemented by job-oriented
functional diagnostics and therapy in the
form of prophylactic and training modules.
The rehabilitation team was enlarged to include
occupational specialists.
Study collectives and methods: A controlled
study compared the results (job-relevant
outcome) obtained in a patient group undergoing
therapy in a clinic working according
to the MBO-rehabilitation concept with
those from a control group from a traditional
orthopaedic rehabilitation clinic. A catamnestic
telephone survey was carried out for both
groups.
Results: In the comparison with the control
group, the most successful results with MBO
were obtained in subjects “with special occupational
problems” who exhibited or reported
improvements (in some cases significant) in
function, activity and ability to participate.
The catamnestic telephone survey made it
possible to categorize the types of patient in
whom acceptance of the MBO concept appears
to be especially good.
Conclusions: It appears that MBO-rehabilitation
measures are an improvement on traditional
rehabilitation therapy as far as the
job-related results are concerned. Further
controlled studies are needed to validate and
develop the concept.
