Is There a Correlation Between Clinical Improvement and Return to Work in Patients, Civil Servants, Who Underwent Surgery for Lumbar Disc Herniation?

Objective. To analyze the rate of return to work in patients, civil servants, who underwent  urgery for lumbar disc herniation. Methods. Thirty patients were included in the study. The level of pain was accessed by Visual Analogue Scale preoperatively and at 3 months postoperatively, when also evaluated the situation of working using the Denis Work Scale. We compared the pain level pre and postoperatively, and the clinical improvement and return to work. Results. The mean age was 47.42 years, females accounted for 54%. The mean preoperative pain was 9.11 and postoperatively was 3.11. Seventy-seven percent of patients returned to previous work. There was moderate correlation between postoperative pain and return to work. Conclusion. There was a correlation between clinical improvement and return to work.