Citation

Sullivan M, Adams H, Thibault P, Moore E, Carrière JS, Larivière C. Pain 2017; 158(5): 980-987.

Affiliation

1Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences The University of Queensland 2Recover Injury Research Centre The University of Queensland 3Department of Psychology McGill University 4Department of Psychology McGill University 5Department of Psychology McGill University 6Occupational Health and Safety Research Institute Robert-Sauvé.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000871

PMID

28178073

Abstract

The present study examined the relation between return-to-work and the maintenance of treatment gains made over the course of a rehabilitation intervention. The study sample consisted of 110 individuals who had sustained whiplash injuries in rear collision motor vehicle accidents and were work-disabled at the time of enrolment in the study. Participants completed pre- and post-treatment measures of pain severity, disability, cervical range of motion, depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms and catastrophizing. Pain severity was assessed again at 1-year follow-up. At 1-year follow-up, 73 participants had returned to work and 37 remained work-disabled. Analyses revealed that participants who returned to work were more likely to maintain treatment gains (77.5%) than participants who remained work-disabled (48%), χ = 6.3, p <.01. The results of a regression analysis revealed that the relation between return-to-work and the maintenance of treatment gains remained significant (β =.30, p <.01), even when controlling for potential confounders such as pain severity, restricted range of motion, depression and pain catastrophizing. The Discussion addresses the processes by which prolonged work-disability might contribute to the failure to maintain treatment gains. Important knowledge gaps still remain concerning the individual, workplace and systems variables that might play a role in whether or not the gains made in the rehabilitation of whiplash injury are maintained. Clinical implications of the findings are also addressed.

Language: en