title: Effectiveness of a return-to-work intervention for subacute low-back pain.
abstract: The effectiveness of return-to-work intervention for subacute low-back pain on work absenteeism, pain severity, and functional status was examined by means of a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Publications in English that met the selection criteria were identified in a computer-aided search and assessed for methodological quality. A best-evidence synthesis was performed instead of statistical data pooling, because of the heterogeneity of the interventions and study populations. Five of nine studies comparing return-to-work intervention with usual care were identified as methodologically high-quality studies. Strong evidence was found for the effectiveness of return to work intervention on the return-to-work rate after 6 months and for the effectiveness of return-to-work intervention on the reduction of days of absence from work after > or = 12 months. It can be concluded that return-to-work interventions are equal or more effective regarding absence from work due to subacute low-back pain than usual care is.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public and Occupational Health, Institute for Research in Extramural Medicine, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hynek
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hlobil
authors.forename: J Bart
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Staal
authors.forename: Maaike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spoelstra
authors.forename: Geertje A M
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Ariëns
authors.forename: Tjabe
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Smid
authors.forename: Willem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: van Mechelen
mesh_terms: D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006804:Ergonomics; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012050:Rehabilitation, Vocational / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018582:Sick Leave