Affiliations: School of Occupational Therapy, The University of
Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada | Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Graduate Program,
The University of Western Ontario, London ON, Canada
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Michael Ravenek, School of
Occupational Therapy, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6G
1H1, Canada. E-mail: mravenek@uwo.ca
Abstract: Introduction: The aim of this review was to describe the low back
pain (LBP) knowledge base developed in WORK and to discuss its relevance to
current perspectives in the broader literature on LBP and employment. Method: A scoping review of the literature in WORK on LBP and
employment was conducted using published articles from 1990–2009.
Articles were organized into geographical regions and summarized for
contributions to the domains of WORK: prevention, assessment, and
rehabilitation. Methodological accordance of the articles was also assessed.
Results: Fifty articles were extracted and organized into
contributions from authors within North America (n=34) and outside North
America (n=16). In total there were 26 prevention, 7 assessment, and 12
rehabilitation articles in this review. Five articles were also classified as
'understanding' articles. More than half of the articles retrieved employed
quantitative methodology. Conclusions: WORK has contributed a broad realm of publications to
the knowledge base on LBP and employment. Two thirds of the articles were
contributed from authors within North America, with a greater emphasis on
prevention. This article highlights the similarities and differences in the
international knowledge base in the management of LBP in WORK. Future
directions for research are elaborated drawing on current perspectives of two
experts on the management of LBP.
Keywords: Scoping review, employment, musculoskeletal back pain, knowledge base
