Patient's return to work 3 months after lumbar spine discectomy and it's determinants in Mashhad 2015-2016: A multicenter cohort

Low back pain is one of the most important causes of disability and accounts for a considerable portion of healthcare costs. One of its causes is Lumbar disc herniation, which sometimes may call for surgical treatment. One of the outcomes of lumbar disc surgery is return to work (RTW) which is studied with its determinants in this article.
In a prospective cohort, patients hospitalized to undergo discectomy were interviewed and examined. Follow up was accomplished 3 months later by telephone call.
overall 56 patients were included and analyzed, 48 subjects (85.7%) returned to work after 3 months. Influencing factors were satisfaction about the work organization/workplace, perception of being supported to return by employer and colleagues, and the surgeon’s comment. In contrast, Demographic factors, Occupational factors outside the control of subject (such as income or disability security or even physical demands of job), and factors pertaining to pain didn’t affect return to work, after 3momenths, statistically.
Patient’s perceptions of his illness and job are of utmost importance in returning to work. Appropriate interventions in this field- either pre or postoperatively- can improve Return To Work and reduce disability.