ABSTRACT:
Low back pain (LBP) is a common work-related
injury, which can result in a chronic disability and keep workers absent
from work for extended periods of time. Therefore, rehabilitation programs
such as work hardening have been developed in hopes of getting workers
back to work more effectively. This retrospective study examined the files
of 50 patient who had received physical therapy treatment between 1991-1995
at Suburban Physical Therapy Center. Subjects were assigned to either the
work hardening or traditional physical therapy group depending upon the
type of treatment that was received. Data was collected until 25 subjects
were in each group. The work hardening group consisted of workers with
a mean age of 37 who were predominately male (84%). The traditional therapy
group had a similar mean age of 39 consisting of 60 males. The researchers
found that there was no significant difference between therapy groups on
return to work (RTW) rates (Chi-square = 0.00). For the 44 subjects who
returned to work, there was also no significant difference between therapy
groups for type of duty (full or modified) resumed (Chi-square = 0.00).
The results indicate that both types of physical therapy treatment are
equally effective at returning subjects to their workplace as well as to
either full or modified duty. The researchers conclude that further research
needs to be done to explore the efficacy of work hardening programs.