Workers' beliefs and expectations affect return to work over 12 months.

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Musculoskeletal Disorders
• Return to Work Research

Background:

• Effective management of low back pain sick leave requires identifying early prognostic factors.
• The influence of various factors on low back pain recovery and return to work is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate prognostic indicators for return to work in workers on sick leave for low back pain.
• To identify factors influencing both initial and sustained return to work.

Main Methods:

• Secondary data analysis of 299 workers on sick leave for low back pain (3-6 weeks).
• Cox regression analysis over a 12-month follow-up to assess worker, job, pain, and psychosocial factors.
• Evaluation of factors predicting return to work lasting at least 4 weeks (lasting-RTW) and first return to work (first-RTW).

Main Results:

• Median time to lasting-RTW was 76 days; first-RTW was 71 days.
• Key predictors for RTW included self-predicted timing, pain intensity, job satisfaction, social support, pain radiation, and physician treatment expectations.
• The multivariate model explained 18% of the variance in lasting-RTW.

Conclusions:

• Worker expectations and beliefs are crucial in the return to work process.
• Occupational physicians can leverage knowledge of these factors in early sick leave phases to enhance return to work outcomes.