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Westman, A., Linton, S. J., Theorell, T., ohrvik, J., Wahlén, P., & Leppert, J. (2006). Quality of life and maintenance of improvements after early multimodal rehabilitation. A 5-year follow-up. Disability & Rehabilitation, 28, 437-446. doi:10.1080/09638280500192694

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Return to Work and Painkiller Medication after Rehabilitation for Subacute Back Conditions—A 2-Year Follow-Up

  AUTHORS: Annalisa Gison, Loredana Bruti, Valentina Dall’armi, Enzo Palma, Salvatore Giaquinto

  KEYWORDS: Low Back Pain; Postural Rehabilitation; Work

  JOURNAL NAME: Advances in Applied Sociology, Vol.3 No.2, May 29, 2013

  ABSTRACT: The study was aimed at evaluating the outcome after 2 years in a population of outpatients suffering from Low Back Pain (LBP) who were treated with a multi-disciplinary approach. The end-points were: 1) the rate of return to work (RTW); 2) the frequency of painkiller medication; 3) the frequency of unavoidable surgical operation; 4) the rate of relapses. Eighty consecutive subjects (75% women) were enrolled. They were referred by general physicians and completed the rehabilitation program at our centre. We followed an open, prospective design. The main results were: RTW: 92.5% positive cases; 7.5% failure. Job cohort settlement: 93.1% the same; 6.9% change. Time interval between discharge and RTW: 76.8% few days after discharge. Painkillers: At follow-up 46 participants (57.5%) could stop the medication. Surgical operations: At admission 39 participants presented with lumbar root involvement (48.7%). Only 4 of them had a surgical intervention (10.2%). In a third of cases of the all sample relapses did not occur. In conclusion, a multi-disciplinary model of intervention led to a high rate of RTW, a reduction of painkiller medication, a low rate of surgical interventions and of relapses as well. Further controlled studies are warranted for assessing the cost/benefit ratio. The clear prevalence of LBP in women recommends measures of preventing Medicine.