Impact of occupational characteristics on return to work for employed patients after elective cervical spine surgery.
Hani ChanbourJacquelyn S PenningsClaudia DavidsonAndrew J CroftJeffrey W ChenWilson E VaughanInamullah KhanKristin R ArcherRaymond J GardockiAmir M AbtahiByron F StephensScott L ZuckermanPublished in: Journal of neurosurgery. Spine (2024)
Among patients undergoing elective degenerative cervical spine surgery who had favorable surgical outcomes and planned to RTW before surgery, 94% had a successful RTW. Age was the strongest predictor of lower odds of RTW. Regarding time to RTW, having a sedentary, light-intensity, or medium-intensity occupation was associated with a shorter RTW time compared with a heavy-intensity occupation. These findings highlight the importance of considering the demographic and occupational characteristics when predicting postoperative RTW in patients with satisfactory surgical outcomes.