Evaluation of Return to Work One Year After a Rehabilitation Program for Chronic Back Pain

Return to work is one of the essential objectives of functional spinal restoration programs. When the duration of the work stoppage increases, the chances of returning to work become worse. No studies have yet evaluated the value of a short 2-week restoration program. The purpose of this study is to determine whether a 2-week functional restoration program regains a return-to-work rate similar to longer-term restoration programs at one year post-program. This retrospective study with prospective referral included 200 patients with non specific chronic low-back pain who participated in a self-care rehabilitation program between May 2018 and May 2019. The program included both physical and educational approaches to dealing with the condition. The duration was two weeks with follow-up at three months. The main evaluation criterion was to evaluate the return to work rate by telephone at one year post-program. Secondary objectives were to observe return-to-work conditions, absenteeism, recovery time, pain and physical activity at one year post-program and also to observe if there was a possible association between intrinsic/extrinsic factors and return to work