The following factors were found to have consistent , but limited , support as regards their influence on the risk for sick leave due to back and neck disorders : ( a ) heavy physical workload , bent or twisted working position , and low work satisfaction increases the risk for short-term and long-term sick leave ; ( b ) specific back diagnoses and previous sick leave due to back disorders increases the risk for short-term and long-term sick leave ; ( c ) female gender , smoking , exposure to vibration , and deficient social support were not found to significantly increase the risk for short-term and long-term sick leave ; ( d ) self-reported pain and functional impairments were associated with a high risk for long-term sick leave ; ( e ) longer employment periods reduced the risk for short-term sick leave ; ( f ) perceived dem and s at work did not influence short-term sick leave ; ( g ) female gender and higher age increases the risk for disability pension
Effect of Discharge Recommendations on Outcome
Study Design The incidence of two common discharge recommendations , return to work unrestricted ( RTWU ) and restricted ( RTWR ) suggested that most restrictions were applied on the basis of patients ' subjective reports of pain or therapist 's unfounded fears that return to full duty would result in physical harm . Objectives This prospect i ve study compares the therapist 's return to work recommendation to the patient 's actual work status and analyzes the effect of that recommendation on outcome . Methods There were 1438 consecutive patients review ed by structured telephone interviews  during the two halves of the study : the control group when pain was accepted as a reason for restriction and the study group when it was not . Summary of Background Data In the control group , 44 % of the patients were recommended to RTWU ; for the study group , 81 % received this recommendation . Compliance was 84 % for the control subjects and 78 % for the study group . Results The absolute number of patients who returned to unrestricted work doubled in the study group . Conclusions The probability of a successful return to normal duty increased with a recommendation of RTWU ( P = 0.0001 ) , whereas the probability of failure increased when restrictions were imposed ( P = 0.0001 )
The following factors were found to have consistent , but limited , support as regards their influence on the risk for sick leave due to back and neck disorders : ( a ) heavy physical workload , bent or twisted working position , and low work satisfaction increases the risk for short-term and long-term sick leave ; ( b ) specific back diagnoses and previous sick leave due to back disorders increases the risk for short-term and long-term sick leave ; ( c ) female gender , smoking , exposure to vibration , and deficient social support were not found to significantly increase the risk for short-term and long-term sick leave ; ( d ) self-reported pain and functional impairments were associated with a high risk for long-term sick leave ; ( e ) longer employment periods reduced the risk for short-term sick leave ; ( f ) perceived dem and s at work did not influence short-term sick leave ; ( g ) female gender and higher age increases the risk for disability pension