Citation

Ozegovic D, Carroll LJ, Cassidy JD. Eur. Spine J. 2009; 18(6): 893-899.

Affiliation

Alberta Centre for Injury Control and Research, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, 4075 RTF, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2E1, ozegovic@ualberta.ca.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00586-009-0954-4

PMID

19343376

PMCID

PMC2899665

Abstract

To determine the association between expectations to return to work and self-assessed recovery. Positive expectations predict better outcomes in many health conditions, but to date the relationship between expecting to return to work after traffic-related whiplash-associated disorders and actual recovery has not been reported. We assessed early expectations for return to work in a cohort of 2,335 individuals with traffic-related whiplash injury to the neck. Using multivariable Cox proportional hazard analysis we assessed the association between return to work expectations and self-perceived recovery during the first year following the event. After adjusting for the effects of sociodemographic characteristics, initial pain and symptoms, post-crash mood, prior health status and collision-related factors, those who expected to return to work reported global recovery 42% more quickly than those who did not have positive expectations (HRR = 1.42, 95% CI 1.26-1.60). Knowledge of return to work expectation provides an important prognostic tool to clinicians for recovery.

Language: en