Table 2.
Pain, disability, and work status of 969 participants immediately before onset of episode and at study entry, six weeks, three months, and 12 months. Figures are numbers (percentages) of participants
| Pre-episode | Study entry | 6 weeks | 3 months | 12 months | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pain: | |||||
| None | * | 0 | 382 (39.5) | 499 (51.5) | 556 (57.4) |
| Very mild | * | 22 (2.3) | 195 (20.0) | 158 (16.3) | 100 (10.3) |
| Mild | * | 85 (8.7) | 213 (22.0) | 153 (15.8) | 132 (13.6) |
| Moderate | * | 349 (36.0) | 128 (13.3) | 120 (12.4) | 128 (13.2) |
| Severe | * | 426 (44.0) | 34 (3.5) | 26 (2.7) | 23 (2.4) |
| Very severe | * | 87 (9.0) | 3 (0.3) | 0 | 5 (0.5) |
| Disability: | |||||
| Not at all | * | 59 (6.0) | 584 (60.3) | 691 (71.4) | 725 (74.8) |
| Little bit | * | 133 (13.7) | 188 (19.4) | 135 (13.9) | 110 (11.4) |
| Moderate | * | 215 (22.2) | 115 (11.9) | 89 (9.2) | 84 (8.7) |
| Quite a bit | * | 373 (38.6) | 53 (5.5) | 37 (3.8) | 22 (2.3) |
| Extreme | * | 189 (19.5) | 15 (1.5) | 4 (0.4) | 3 (0.2) |
| Work status: | |||||
| Employed: | |||||
| Full duties | 742 (76.6) | 461 (47.6) | 670 (69.1) | 696 (71.8) | 699 (72.2) |
| Selected duties | 27 (2.8) | 145 (15.0) | 75 (7.7) | 59 (6.1) | 40 (4.1) |
| Sick leave | 7 (0.7) | 159 (16.4) | 17 (1.8) | 12 (1.2) | 12 (1.2) |
| Maternity or long service leave | 17 (1.8) | 19 (2.0) | 10 (1.0) | 8 (0.8) | 7 (0.7) |
| Unemployed | 30 (3.1) | 36 (3.7) | 35 (3.6) | 33 (3.4) | 33 (3.4) |
| Not seeking paid employment, such as retired | 142 (14.7) | 145 (15.0) | 143 (14.9) | 143 (14.9) | 148 (15.3) |
| Other | 4 (0.3) | 4 (0.3) | 5 (0.5) | 5 (0.5) | 5 (0.5) |
| Missing data | 0 | 0 | 14 (1.4) | 13 (1.3) | 25 (2.6) |
*Not formally measured but study inclusion was that current episode was preceded by period of at least one month without back pain.