Prognostic factors specific to work-related musculoskeletal disorders: An overview of recent systematic reviews

Purpose: Work-related injuries affect a considerable number of people each year and represent a significant burden for society. To reduce this burden, optimizing rehabilitation care by integrating prognostic factors (PF) into the clinical decision-making process is a promising way to improve clinical outcomes. The aim of this study was to identify PF specific to work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

Methods: We performed an overview of systematic reviews reporting on PF that had the following outcomes of interest: Return to work, pain, disability, functional status, or poor outcomes. Each extracted PF was categorized according to its level of evidence (grade A or B) and whether it was modifiable or not. The risk of bias of each study was assessed with the ROBIS tool.

Results: We retrieved 757 citations from 3 databases. After removing 307 duplicates, 450 records were screened, and 20 studies were retained. We extracted a total of 20 PF with a Grade A recommendation, where 7 were deemed modifiable, 11 non-modifiable and 2 were index test. For example, return to work expectations, previous sick leave, delay in referral and pain intensity were found to be predictors of return-to-work outcomes. We also identified 17 PF with a Grade B recommendation, where 11 were deemed modifiable. For example, poor general health, negative recovery expectations, coping and fear-avoidance beliefs, pain severity, and particularly physical work were found to predict return to work outcomes.

Conclusion: We found numerous modifiable PFs that can help clinicians personalize their treatment plan beyond diagnostic-related information for work-related musculoskeletal disorders.