Return to Work Following Low Back Pain

Abstract

Low back pain (LBP) is a highly prevalent cause of disability and one of the most expensive health conditions. Along with personal suffering, LBP can result in decreased productivity and absenteeism. It is also one of the leading causes of lost work time. Rather than viewing work resumption as a discrete event, returning to work after an episode of work disability can be viewed as process that encompasses a series of events, transitions, and phases, and includes interactions with other individuals and the environment. The return to work (RTW) process is conceived of as the process workers go through to reach, or attempt to reach, their RTW goal (typically a return to their pre-disability work participation). The process is thought of as beginning at the onset of work disability and concluding when a satisfactory long-term outcome has been achieved. A successful RTW coordination seems more based on ergonomics job accommodation, communication, and conflict resolution rather than on medical or purely biomechanical knowledge. It is very substantial for Rehabilitation Medicine to pay attention to this need to achieve the goal of LBP clients to RTW successfully.