Specific LBP , higher disability levels , older age , female gender , more social dysfunction and more social isolation , heavier work , and receiving higher compensation were identified as predictors for a longer duration of sick leave .
A history of LBP , job satisfaction , educational level , marital status , number of dependants , smoking , working more than 8 hour shifts , occupation , and size of industry or company do not influence duration of sick leave due to LBP .
Many different constructs were measured to identify psychosocial predictors of long term sick leave , which made it impossible to determine the role of these factors
BACKGROUND The percentages of patients with acute low back pain ( LBP ) that go on to a chronic state varies between studies from 2 % to 34 % .
In some of these cases low back pain leads to great costs .
AIMS To evaluate the evidence for prognostic factors for return to work among workers sick listed with acute LBP .
Conservative treatment in patients sick-listed for acute low-back pain: a prospective randomised study with 12 months’ follow-up
Abstract We evaluated three different conservative treatment methods for acute low-back pain patients in groups following a manual therapy programme , an intensive training programme , or a general practitioner programme  , the latter serving as the control group . Patients aged 19–64 years on sick leave for low-back pain with or without sciatica were included in a prospect i ve r and omised study evaluating outcomes such as impairment , pain , functional disability , socio-economic disability and satisfaction with the treatment or explanations . Evaluation by unbiased observers was performed at 1 , 3 and 12 months . The three treatment groups were comparable at baseline . With regard to satisfaction , the patients in the manual therapy programme and those in the intensive training programme were more satisfied with the treatment than those in the general practitioner programme at all follow-ups . With regard to the explanations of current low-back pain episodes , the patients in the manual therapy programme were more satisfied than those in the general practitioner programme at all follow-ups . The manual therapy programme group were also more satisfied with the explanations than those in the intensive training programme at the 1-month follow-up . However , no differences were revealed between the groups with respect to outcomes on measures of impairment , pain , functional disability or socio-economic disability . All three study groups showed rapid improvement . After 1 month a significant improvement was noted in all outcome values compared with the values on entry to the study . Within the limitations discussed in our study , it is concluded that ( 1 ) patients sick listed with acute low-back pain , with or without sciatica , will be significantly improved after 1 month regardless of conservative treatment programme ; ( 2 ) they will be more satisfied with the treatment if they are referred to a manual treatment programme or a training treatment programme ; ( 3 ) they will be more satisfied with the explanations of the acute low-back problem if they are referred to one of the above groups , especially the manual treatment group ; ( 4 ) they will not show any other differences with respect to subjective and objective variables , either at short-term or at long-term follow-ups
Specific LBP , higher disability levels , older age , female gender , more social dysfunction and more social isolation , heavier work , and receiving higher compensation were identified as predictors for a longer duration of sick leave .
A history of LBP , job satisfaction , educational level , marital status , number of dependants , smoking , working more than 8 hour shifts , occupation , and size of industry or company do not influence duration of sick leave due to LBP .
Many different constructs were measured to identify psychosocial predictors of long term sick leave , which made it impossible to determine the role of these factors
BACKGROUND The percentages of patients with acute low back pain ( LBP ) that go on to a chronic state varies between studies from 2 % to 34 % .
In some of these cases low back pain leads to great costs .
AIMS To evaluate the evidence for prognostic factors for return to work among workers sick listed with acute LBP .