Affiliations: School of Occupational Therapy, The University of
Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Michael Ravenek, School of
Occupational Therapy, 1201 Western Road, The University of Western Ontario,
London, ON, Canada, N6G 1H1, Canada. Tel.: +1 519 661 2111; E-mail:
mravenek@uwo.ca
Abstract: Objective: Previous research has provided an inconsistent message as
to the effectiveness of multidisciplinary programs to improve employment
outcomes in clients with Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP). The primary aims of this
review were to: 1) update the evidence for the multidisciplinary treatment of
CLBP to improve employment outcomes 2) assess what knowledge supports
occupational therapy as contributing to a multidisciplinary approach in the
treatment of CLBP. Participants: Working-age adults experiencing CLBP who took part in
controlled trials evaluating multidisciplinary programs between July 1998 and
July 2009. Methods: Updated guidelines provided by the Cochrane Collaboration
Back Review Group (BRG) were used to perform a systematic review to identify,
appraise, and synthesize research evidence relevant to our research questions. Results: Twelve unique articles were found, after a database search
and citation tracking, only two of which were high quality. Our findings
suggest that there is still conflicting evidence for the effectiveness of
multidisciplinary programs to improve employment outcomes in CLBP. Conclusions: The results are discussed with reference to current
methodological limitations found in the literature. Furthermore, occupational
therapists were found to be underutilized in the included studies and future
multidisciplinary programs should take advantage of the wide range of skills
that occupational therapists can contribute in this practice area.
Keywords: Biopsychosocial, employment, occupational therapy, back review group
