Fysioterapeuten (Jan 2016)
Sick leave and a «Return-to-Work» programme – a prospective clinical study on patients with persistent low back pain
Abstract
Objective: Explore 1-year course of sickleave and clinical outcome in patients with persistent low back pain (LBP) referred to «Raskere tilbake»*, and assess whether psychological factors predicted sickleave at 12 months follow-up. Design: Prospective cohort study. Material: All patients with LBP referred to Ålesund hospital outpatient back clinic during one year were invited to participate. Method: Standardised questionnaires at baseline, 3 and 12 months. Multivariate logistic regression analyses was used to analyse the associations. Results: A total of 131 patients were included; 98 responded at 3 months and 88 at 12 months. The proportion of sickleave was reduced from 65% at baseline to 33% at 12 months (p<0.002). A statistically significant reduction in number of sickleave days and improvement in clinical outcomes were also observed. Sickleave at 12 months was statistically significant associated with emotional distress and catastrophizing; odds ratio (OR) of 4.4 (CI 1.5 -12.8) and 4.2 (CI 1.5 - 11.7). Conclusion. Patients who participated in the multidisciplinary «Raskere Tilbake» programme had a large reduction in sickleave and improvement in clinical outcomes during the year of follow-up. Emotional distress and catastrophizing at baseline increased the risk for sickleave at 12 months.
