@article{ref1,
title="Return to work helps maintain treatment gains in the rehabilitation of whiplash injury",
journal="Pain",
year="2017",
author="Sullivan, Michael and Adams, Heather and Thibault, Pascal and Moore, Emily and Carrière, Junie S. and Larivière, Christian",
volume="158",
number="5",
pages="980-987",
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.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0304-3959",
doi="10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000871",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000871"
}