Early Return to Work has Benefits for Relief of Back Pain and Functional Recovery after Controlling for Multiple Confounds (original) (raw)

Early Return to Work has Benefits for Relief of Back Pain and Functional Recovery after Controlling for Multiple Confounds

To evaluate the effect on health outcomes of an early or immediate return-to-work (RTW) after acute low back pain (LBP). A longitudinal cohort of workers (N = 557) consulting for uncomplicated LBP were assessed on demographic, pain, occupational, and psychosocial variables. Pain and function were assessed at 3-months post pain onset. We tested the longitudinal effects of an early RTW on 3-month outcomes. Pain and function improved more rapidly for workers with an immediate (30.7%) or early (1-7 days) RTW (36.8%). Eleven demographic, health, or workplace variables were identified as potential confounds, but controlling for these factors only partially attenuated the benefits of an early RTW. An early RTW improves acute LBP and functional recovery, and alternate confounding explanations only partially eclipse this therapeutic effect.This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), whe...