Short- and long-term effects of a 12-week intensive functional restoration programme in individuals work-disabled by...

The short- and long-term effects of a 12-week intensive functional restoration programme for 153 participants with chronic spinal pain are reported. The average patient sick leave before the programme started was about one year. At the 2-year follow-up, 69% of the participants reported in telephone interviews that they were working either part time or full time. Aerobic fitness, trunk muscle strength and lifting capacity increased during the programme. In the non-working groups, pain was rated higher and quality of life lower than in the working groups at the 1- and 2-year follow-ups. For the women's return to job, the best predictors were the time since the original pain onset and the achieved capacity to lift from waist to shoulder level. For the men's return to job, the best predictors were the initial work situation, the time since the original pain onset, the oxygen uptake and the lumbar lifting capacity at the end of the programme. The results of this non-controlled rehabilitation programme, both short- and long-term, support earlier findings that intensive rehabilitation can increase physical capacity and general well-being.