The Intervene Project is being conducted by the University of Sydney Pain Management and Research Institute and looks at the evaluation of a treatment for injured miners reporting pain interfering in work or return to work.

The project investigates a multidisciplinary pain management program compared with an industry standard outcome.

Statistics show 80 to 90% of injured workers return to work in one to 12 weeks, however in New South Wales after six months 13% are still not at work. 75% of this group are diagnosed as strains/sprains.

Of this group, in New South Wales after one year 7% have still not returned to work and the chances of returning to work decline rapidly.

“This small group can become very long-term and disproportionately expensive,” said professor Michael Nicholas in an address to a Health and Safety Trust seminar last month.

He noted the vast majority of injured workers returned to work, in many cases despite some persisting pain, indicating complete pain relief before return to work was not always necessary.

Research has shown those who return to work as soon as possible, or don’t really stop, suffer less disability and those who do not return to work within two years get more treatment and worse outcomes.

This is where Nicholas said addressing psychosocial factors comes into play. “When cognitive and behavioural aspects are directly targeted in treatment, the gains are much greater that those achieved by standard care and information alone,” he said.

The Intervene study looks at 60 injured workers who meet entry criteria and puts them on a program of 30 hours spread over four weeks of treatment with a multi-disciplinary team.

The treatment includes interactive education, goal-setting, structured exercises, graduated return to activities, relaxation training, coping techniques, problem solving and homework tasks.

So far 54 miners have completed the program. To date researchers have found staff training and preparation critical and workplace involvement in the program makes a large difference with return to work.

Under the program, initial return to work and medical cost outcomes of four workers show three have returned to full duties and hours, while the other was retrenched and is undergoing retraining.

Improvements were noted in disability, mood and confidence across the group. Medical cost over six months were less in all cases following Intervene.

The next stage is to complete 60 cases in the program and follow-up one year after program completion.