Objective: To determine patterns of physiotherapy and opioid use among compensated workers with low back pain (LBP), factors associated with these, and their association with time loss.
Methods: Accepted Victorian and South Australian workers' compensation claims, services, medicines data for LBP claims lodged 30th June 2010-1st July 2015. Descriptive statistics, multinomial logistic and Cox regression was used to determine usage groups, their predictors, and effect of these on time loss.
Results: Of 15,728 claims, 24.4% received no services, 3.6% opioids only, 43.3% physiotherapy only and 28.8% both opioids and physiotherapy. Sex, age, occupation, remoteness, jurisdiction and socioeconomic status were significantly associated with usage groups. Using opioids and physiotherapy had the longest time loss.
Conclusions: Any services/medicine usage was associated with increased time loss; longest for combined physiotherapy and opioids.
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