Low-back pain
Low-back pain is a common disorder involving the muscles, nerves and bones of the back. Pain can vary from a dull constant ache to a sudden sharp feeling. Low-back pain is usually classified by duration as acute (pain lasting less than six weeks), sub-chronic (six to 12 weeks) or chronic (more than 12 weeks). IWH research looks at the occupational risk factors for back pain, how to treat and manage it, and prognostic factors related to recovery and return to work.
Featured
At Work article
IWH study finds 7 in 10 injured workers still experience pain more than a year after injury
A high proportion of injured workers in Ontario experience persistent pain for well over a year after their work-related injury. According to an IWH study of workers' compensation lost-time claimants, 70 per cent of workers experience pain 18 months after their work injury.
Published: September 30, 2022
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series
Does radiating spinal pain determine future work disability?
Dr. Vicki Kristman from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto discusses a study that set out to determine if radiating spinal pain from the low back, mid back and neck is associated with future use of health-related benefits and their duration.
Published: May 2011
At Work article
At Work article
Five easy pieces: Easy-to-use tool helps predict back-pain outcomes
A simple, five-question tool has been developed to help front-line doctors identify those patients with back pain who are at risk of severe and long-term functional limitations and, therefore, potentially in need of more aggressive treatment and follow-up.
Published: May 2011
At Work article
At Work article
The crystal ball: Predicting return to work following low-back pain
What factors affect how long it will take workers to return to work following an episode of acute low-back pain? A just-completed systematic review from the Institute for Work & Health points to a number of them, including workers’ recovery expectations and their interactions with health-care practi
Published: January 2011
Project
Project
Understanding the use and impact of early opioid prescriptions for work-related low-back pain
Do opioids prescribed in the early weeks of a new workers’ compensation lost-time claim for low-back pain result in prolonged work disability? This was one of the questions asked by an IWH research team looking at the opioid prescription patterns with respect to low-back pain.
Status: Completed 2017
Tools and guides
So your back hurts...
This booklet contains evidence-based information, drawn from the research literature before 2010, on how people can live with short-term (acute) low-back pain. It contains reassuring advice about the course of typical back pain, as well as information on choosing the right treatment, what works and what doesn’t, and some common myths about back pain.
Published: January 2010
Research Highlights
Study finds three groups of workers with low-back pain
Workers disabled by low-back pain can be grouped into three different groups: (1) those with workplace factors, (2) those with no workplace factors, but greater back pain, and (3) those with multiple factors.
Published: January 2010
At Work article
At Work article
Workplace program speeds return of workers with low-back injuries
According to new IWH research, workplace-based programs in which workers and supervisors jointly identify and solve return-to-work barriers help workers with low-back pain return to their jobs more quickly — especially workers who are often considered the most challenging return-to-work cases.
Published: July 2009
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series
The Mustard Fellowship 2006-2008: Subgrouping of workers on disability benefits due to low back pain
In this presentation Ivan Steenstra, an epidemiologist and kinesiologist and the Mustard Postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Work & Health from 2006 to 2008, provides an overview of the work he has done on sub-grouping of workers on disability/sick leave due to low back pain.
Published: January 2009
Research Highlights
Research Highlights
Orthopedic surgeons hold diverse views of chiropractors
In a survey of 500 orthopedic surgeons in Canada and the United States, just over half held a favourable or neutral view or chiropractors. The rest had a negative view.
Published: January 2009
Research Highlights
Research Highlights
An approach to developing a return-to-work program
Intervention mapping is a useful framework for developing customized return-to-work (RTW) programs that have been found to be more effective than non-tailored plans.
Published: January 2009