When Does a Back Injury Become a Long Term Disability?

Have you ever pulled your back at work? A surprising amount of workers suffer from back injuries, but what makes one back injury a short-term affair, while others can turn into a chronic, long-term disability? This was the question burning in the mind of researcher Judith A. Turner, Ph.D., of the University of Washington, Seattle. She and her colleagues set out to find the answer to this question by determining the risk factors in long-term disability after a back injury.

The research involved more than 1,800 workers that received workers' compensation. These workers had filed a claim 3 weeks after a job related back injury, on average, and were analyzed at one year after their injury. To determine the risk factors the researchers looked at many different variables including job characteristics, employer response, psychological factors, and health care providers.

The goal of this study was not only to find out risk factors, but to be able to use these risk factors to help target those at risk and work on prevention for long-term disability due to a back injury. After studying the risk factors that were found, the researchers developed a statistical model that was estimated at an 88 percent accuracy rate, for identifying the workers who are at the highest risk for long-term disabling and those who would and would not be disabled one year after a back injury.

What were the risk factors? While there were many different risk factors, the ones that stood out were:

Severe initial back injury (of course);

Pain that spread down the leg (signifying radiculopathy, or spinal nerve roots concern);

Previous injuries resulting in time off work (one month or higher);

First doctor seen (whether they were a specialist or not);

Whether or not a chiropractor was seen (those who saw a chiropractor were less likely to be disabled);

Whether or not employers provided accommodations (such as lighter workload or an easier, less stressful or less physical job)

and Whether or not the job was stressful or hectic;

Surprisingly, psychological factors that were studied were not significant risk factors.

Whether or not the initial back injury was severe was definitely a factor, but researchers found that the other risk factors seemed to be independent upon the severity of the initial injury.

Researchers are hoping the new statistical model based on these risk factors help in future prevention of back injuries turning into chronic, long term disability.