Introduction: Many studies have documented the high distress rates and their correlates among individuals experiencing persistent pain due to a musculoskeletal disorder (MSD). However, few have adopted a biopsychosocial perspective to understand this issue.
Objective: The first objective of this study was to examine workers' distress levels before they start work rehabilitation and to compare it to those in a healthy population. The second objective was to assess the correlations between distress and biopsychosocial factors.
Methods: The participants were 228 workers on sick leave due to persistent pain from an MSD and who were referred to an interdisciplinary work rehabilitation program.
Results: The workers had very high distress levels compared to normative data. Also, the results of a multiple regression showed that duration of absence, high occupational stress, perception of disability, and fear of movement and (re)injury were significantly associated with distress.
Conclusions: These results highlight the importance of considering distress not only as a predictor of work disability, but as an independent outcome measure. This shift of paradigm could provide a more comprehensive approach in the understanding of workers' disability.