Effectiveness of a return-to-work Intervention for Subacute low-back Pain

• Published in: Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment ＆ Health Environment ＆ Health, 2005-08, Vol.31 (4), p.249-257
• Main Authors: Hlobil, Hynek, Staal, J Bart, Spoelstra, Maaike, Ariëns, Geertje AM, Smid, Tjabe, van Mechelen, Willem
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Back pain; Behavior Therapy - methods; Biological and medical sciences; Control groups; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Diseases of the spine; Ergonomics; Experimentation; Health care outcome assessment; Humans; Low back pain; Low Back Pain - psychology; Low Back Pain - rehabilitation; Medical sciences; Pain; Patient Education as Topic; Psychoeducational intervention; Randomized controlled trials; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Rehabilitation, Vocational - methods; Rehabilitation, Vocational - psychology; Review; Severity of Illness Index; Sick Leave; Workplace absenteeism
• ISSN: 0355-3140; 1795-990X
• DOI: 10.5271/sjweh.880

The effectiveness of return-to-work intervention for subacute low-back pain on work absenteeism, pain severity, and functional status was examined by means of a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Publications in English that met the selection criteria were identified in a computer-aided search and assessed for methodological quality. A best-evidence synthesis was performed instead of statistical data pooling, because of the heterogeneity of the interventions and study populations. Five of nine studies comparing return-to-work intervention with usual care were identified as methodologically high-quality studies. Strong evidence was found for the effectiveness of return to work intervention on the return-to-work rate after 6 months and for the effectiveness of return-to-work intervention on the reduction of days of absence from work after > 12 months. It can be concluded that return-to-work interventions are equal or more effective regarding absence from work due to subacute low-back pain than usual care is.