Abstract
Evaluating treatment outcomes of local corticosteroid injections for work-related lower back pain (LBP) as the current evidence for the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine guidelines is considered insufficient to recommend this practice.
The authors conducted a retrospective study involving the patients who were treated with peri-articular and lower lumbar corticosteroid injections for work-related LBP at their occupational medicine clinic.
Sixty-four patients met the inclusion criteria. The average pain level was reduced from M±SD 5.1±2.0 to M±SD 3.1±2.3 after the corticosteroid injection (p < 0.0001). Thirty-five patients (55%) were discharged to regular duty; 23 (36%) were transferred to orthopedics due to persistent pain; and 6 (9%) were lost to follow-up.
Corticosteroid injections for work-related LBP are effective in reducing pain and enhancing discharge to regular duty. Nonetheless, larger prospective trials are needed to validate these findings. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2021;34(1):111-20.