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The OHPG is a special interest group of the New Zealand Society of Physiotherapists Inc. (NZSP). Occupational health physiotherapists provide assessment and rehabilitation to assist the injured worker back to their job or to enable them to remain at work. Although work is emphasized, the physiotherapist is also concerned with the worker's ability to function at home and in the community.

Occupational health physiotherapists are involved in a range of activities, which may include:

  • Workplace assessments and recommendations for alterations;
  • Analyzing work tasks and recommending changes to prevent injury;
  • Education about injury prevention in the workplace, eg. Back care, manual handling and prevention of occupational overuse syndrome;
  • Functional capacity evaluations - testing a person's capacity for work;
  • Treatment of work related injuries;
  • Return-to-work planning and work-hardening;
  • Stress management and relaxation therapies;
  • Pain management.

    • The OHPG's mission is to foster and promote quality physiotherapy in occupational health in New Zealand. We will strive to be a significant group in prevention, assessment, management and policy making in the occupational health field in New Zealand.

    Benefits of OHPG Membership

    The Occupational Health Physiotherapy Group Inc. has over 170 members ranging from those with an interest in the field to those who are involved in occupational health full time.
    The group publishes a newsletter every quarter and runs a full day seminar every year. The seminar speakers are chosen for the relevance of their particular topic to current trends or policies in the occupational health arena and attempts are made to vary the location of the seminar from year to year.
    The group does not run its own post-basic education course, although they actively encourage members attend a number of courses which already exist to provide the range of skills and knowledge required. These range from weekend courses to university study. The group also holds a list of relevant resource texts and publications.
    Membership of the OHPG is open to all NZSP members with an interest in the area of Occupational Health. Join here