ArticleJournal of occupational rehabilitation2023
Exploration of the Usual Care Pathway for Rotator Cuff Related Shoulder Pain in the Western Australian Workers' Compensation System.
Article in Journal of occupational rehabilitation, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Reducing Time Off Work Through an Integrated Care Pathway for Shoulder Injuries: Evidence from a Workers' Compensation Cohort Study.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Earlier Orthopaedic Surgeon Evaluation of Workers' Compensation Associated With Higher Return to Full Duty After Shoulder Arthroscopy.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeInvestigate components of care for rotator cuff related shoulder pain in workers' compensation in relation to claim outcomes (claim duration, total medical spend, total claim cost, return to work outcome).
methodsEngagement with (had care, time to care) four components of care (prescribed exercise, imaging, injections, surgery) were obtained from auditing 189 closed workers' compensation files. Associations were analysed between components of care and claim outcomes.
results80% received prescribed exercise, 81% imaging, 42% injection and 35% surgery. Median time to imaging (11 days) was shorter than the prescribed exercise (27 days), with injection at 38 days and surgery 118.5 days. With univariable regression analysis higher age, the involvement of legal representation and the presence of rotator cuff pathology from diagnostic imaging (partial thickness tear or full thickness tear) were all associated with increased claim duration, total medical spend, total claim cost and less successful return to work outcomes. After adjusting for these three associations, having an injection or surgery were both positively associated with longer claim duration and greater medical spend, and surgery with greater total claim costs. In general, longer time to receiving components of care was associated with increased claim duration and reduced odds of returning to full duties at work.
conclusionEarly management was not consistent with clinical guidelines for managing workers' compensation rotator cuff related shoulder pain. This may negatively affect claims outcomes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.