Effects of Workload on Return to Work After Elective Lumbar Spine Surgery

Study Design: Retrospective analysis was performed of a multi-center Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network (CSORN) surgical database. Objective: To determine the rate and time to return to work (RTW) based on workload intensity after elective degenerative lumbar spine surgery. Methods: Patients working pre-operatively, aged greater than 18, who underwent a primary one- or two-level elective lumbar spine surgery for degenerative conditions between January 2015 and October 2020 were evaluated. The percentage of patients who returned to work at I year and the time to RTW post-operatively were analyzed based on workload intensity. Results: Of the 1 290 patients included in the analysis, the overall rate of RTW was 82% at I year. Based on workload there was no significant difference in time to RTW after a fusion procedure, with median time to RTW being 10 weeks. For non-fusion procedure, the sedentary group had a statistically significantly quicker time to RTW than the light-moderate (P < .005) and heavy-very heavy (<.027) groups. Conclusions: The rate of RTW ranged between 84% for patients with sedentary work to 77% for patient with a heavy-very heavy workload. Median time to resumption of work was about 1 0 weeks following a fusion regardless of work intensity. There was more variability following non-fusion surgeries such as laminectomy and discectomy reflecting the patient's job demands.