Outcomes in work-related upper extremity and low back injuries: Results of a retrospective study

• Published in: American journal of industrial medicine Vol. 37; no. 4; pp. 400 - 409
• Main Authors: Pransky, Glenn, Benjamin, Katy, Hill-Fotouhi, Carolyn, Himmelstein, Jay, Fletcher, Kenneth E., Katz, Jeffrey N., Johnson, William G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.04.2000; Wiley-Liss
• Subjects: Absenteeism; Activities of Daily Living; Analysis of Variance; Anxiety - psychology; Arm Injuries - economics; Arm Injuries - therapy; Back Injuries - economics; Back Injuries - therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Chemical, physic and infectious diseases; Chi-Square Distribution; Cost of Illness; Databases as Topic; Employment; Female; Follow-Up Studies; functional status; Humans; Low Back Pain - physiopathology; Male; Medical sciences; musculoskeletal disorders; New Hampshire; Occupational Diseases - economics; Occupational Diseases - therapy; occupational disorders; occupational injuries; Occupational medicine; Outcome Assessment (Health Care); outcomes; Pain - physiopathology; Physic and infectious agents; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Recurrence; Retrospective Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; work disability; Workers' Compensation; New Hampshire; Human; Occupational accident; Prognosis; Lumbar spine; Personal injury; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Vertebral column; Upper limb; Spine disease; Trauma; Occupational medicine; Public health
• ISSN: 0271-3586; 1097-0274
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0274(200004)37:4<400::AID-AJIM10>3.0.CO;2-C

Background The outcomes of treatment for work‐related injuries and illnesses are multidimensional and complex, but have rarely been explored in detail. This study was intended to provide information on a sample of workers representing a range of jobs and employers typical of the workers compensation system. Methods A mailed, self‐report survey measuring multiple dimensions was conducted. Identified through the New Hampshire Division of Workers' Compensation First Report of Injury database, a sample of workers with injuries to their lower back (60%) or upper extremities (40%) a year prior to the study were surveyed. Response rate was 80% (N=169; upper extremity cases=70; low back cases=99). Results Most (82.8%) were working one year post‐injury. Over half reported residual effects of the injury on work or activities of daily living. Many working subjects reported persistent injury‐related anxiety and pain at the end of the work day, worse in those with low back pain compared to those with upper extremity injuries. Almost 40% of those who returned to work suffered a reinjury. Forty‐four percent of respondents suffered significant injury‐related financial problems, which were worse in those who had been out of work for longer periods. Conclusions Occupational musculoskeletal injuries do result in significant, long‐term adverse physical, economic, and psychological consequences, as demonstrated in self‐reported surveys. Am. J. Ind. Med. 37:400–409, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.