The Association of Physiotherapy and Opioid Use With Duration of Compensated Time Loss for Workers With Low Back Pain

To determine patterns of physiotherapy and opioid use among compensated workers with low back pain (LBP), factors associated with these, and their association with time loss.

Accepted Victorian and South Australian workers' compensation claims, services, and medicines data for LBP claims lodged June 30, 2010-July 1, 2015. Descriptive statistics, multinomial logistic, and Cox regression were used to determine usage groups, their predictors, and effect of these on time loss.

Of 15,728 claims, 24.4% received no services, 3.6% received opioids only, 43.3% received physiotherapy only, and 28.8% received both opioids and physiotherapy. Sex, age, occupation, remoteness, jurisdiction, and socioeconomic status were significantly associated with usage groups. Using opioids and physiotherapy had the longest time loss.

Any services/medicine usage was associated with increased time loss and was longest for combined physiotherapy and opioids.