If you're like most people, you work to support yourself and your family. You rely on your income to provide food, clothing and shelter. But now you're recuperating from an injury, and you're wondering how you're ever going to perform your job again.

Fortunately, help is available from medical professionals who specialize in work-related injuries and returning to work after an injury or illness. Smaller companies may direct you to a doctor or specialist in occupational health or rehabilitation medicine in the community, while many larger companies have a full-fledged work rehabilitation program on-site to help ease your transition back into the workplace. If you've been injured on the job, these services are paid for through workers compensation.

Work rehabilitation services provide programs to prevent on-the-job injuries as well as services to help you regain the strength and the skills you'll need to get back to work. If you can't return to your old job, rehabilitation services professionals can help you find a new position where you work or refer you to a federal or state agency that can assist you.

Here's an example. Imagine you're a right-handed assembly line worker who's had surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in the right shoulder. During a typical workday, you spend half your time lifting a 10-pound drill with your right arm to insert screws that attach car doors to the body of a car. The rest of your workday, you lift and attach windows to the doorframe and make sure they work.

You go back for the final visit with your surgeon. He or she tells you that your shoulder has healed. If you work for a large company, you will report to the company's occupational health services. From there, the doctor can refer you to work rehabilitation services. Rehabilitation services staff might be employed by your company and available to you on-site or you may be directed off-site to a contracted facility.

If you work for a small company that doesn't have occupational health services, you'll be treated by a doctor in your community. To get back to work quicker, ask him or her to refer you to a physical or occupational therapist who specializes in helping injured people get back to work. A physical or occupational therapist can visit the work site with you and meet with you and your supervisor to develop a plan to keep you active and on the job.

Staying active is important as you recover. You'll experience less fatigue, feel better, and maintain your muscle strength and endurance.

It might seem overwhelming to think about going back to work after an injury. You may fear the pain of using muscles you haven't used for a while. You may also worry about the embarrassment of not being able to do the work you did before. But you don't need to worry. Work rehabilitation services are meant to help you return to work quickly and safely.

In fact, most work-related injuries result in little time away from work. And only a small percentage of these require medical attention. An analysis conducted at the Work Rehabilitation Center at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., found that slightly more than half to three-quarters of workers who required medical attention were able to return to the same job.

If you're injured, members of your work rehabilitation team may include:

• Doctor. Your doctor at work rehabilitation services will probably specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation. He or she will lead your team's efforts. Most important, as team leader your doctor will decide when you're ready to return to work and determine how much you can do.

• Physical therapist. He or she will work with you to make sure you use your body in a way that maximizes your abilities. Specifically, the physical therapist will help you with aerobic conditioning, strengthening exercises and job simulation tasks, such as lifting heavy objects.

• Occupational therapist. He or she will make sure you can operate the equipment you normally use at work. For example, an occupational therapist may help you learn to use voice-activated word processing software after an eye injury.

• Vocational rehabilitation counselor. If you're unable to return to your old job, a vocational counselor can assess your skills and help place you in another job where you work. He or she can also refer you to the appropriate state and federal employment agencies for specialized job training or placement outside your current company.

• Psychologist. A psychologist who specializes in occupational health can help you adjust to life after an injury. He or she can also help you deal with grief and loss, if that's a problem for you.

But you're the most important member of your team. Your team will encourage you to become an active participant in your care. Working together, you'll establish practical goals for returning to work. Once you and your team agree on your goals and how you're going to accomplish them, you'll sign a contract that demonstrates your commitment to the rehabilitation process. Then team members will teach you the skills to meet your goals and coach you as you practice them.

Your team will strive to create a reality-based return-to-work program for you. Therapists will gather information about your work tasks from your employer. They may even visit your work site.

Next your team will assess your ability to perform the work tasks. They'll evaluate your muscle strength, posture and physical endurance. Then they'll work with you to develop a plan that will include aerobic conditioning and strengthening exercises.

You may be surprised to learn that most work rehabilitation centers look like workout facilities. One notable exception is that work rehabilitation centers also include equipment that mimics your work environment, such as computer workstations and tools used in building trades.

Your personal program may last from two to six weeks. You may ease your way back to full-time work by working half-days at the center and the other half of your day on the job.

Returning to work after an injury can be challenging. But if you maintain a positive outlook and get help from your family doctor, a specialist in occupational health or a full-fledged work rehabilitation services team, you'll be back to work before you know it.