Researchers Show Psychological Factors Can Worsen Pain, Delay Return to Work

Physical damage might be the reason a worker has pain in the first place, but psychological factors can prolong pain and keep employees away from the job longer, according to a pair of articles published in this month’s issue of The Spine Journal. The team of researchers who published the articles, mostly representing the University of Zurich in Switzerland, conducted a review of previous studies and found that two psychological phenomena – catastrophizing and fear-avoidance beliefs – are associated with return to work and levels of pain among patients with lower back pa...