ArticleJOSPT open2025
The effect of early physical therapy intervention on case duration and physical therapy visits in acute work-related musculoskeletal injuries across body regions: A retrospective cohort study.
Article in JOSPT open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. 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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Cost-Effectiveness of Physical Therapist Treatment in Addition to Usual Podiatry Management of Plantar Heel Pain: Economic Evaluation of a Randomized Clinical Trial.Physical therapy · 2025Trial
- Interdisciplinary Occupational Health System for Recovery From Musculoskeletal Injuries in US Army Personnel.JAMA network open · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo evaluate how initiating physical therapy (PT) early affected (1) case duration and (2) the number of PT visits, in patients with acute work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs).
designA retrospective cohort study of 83 846 patients with WMSDs who were receiving occupational health services between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2022.
methodsPatients were categorized according to the time from injury to initiating PT (0-2 days, 3-7 days, 8-12 days, and 13+ days). Descriptive statistics were used to analyze case duration and PT visits across 7 diagnostic groups (lumbar spine, thoracic spine, cervical spine, shoulder/humerus, elbow/wrist/hand, knee, and ankle/foot). Kruskal-Wallis tests assessed the impact of PT timing on outcomes.
resultsInitiating PT early (0-2 days) was associated with significantly shorter case durations and fewer PT visits across all diagnostic groups. The median case duration for early PT was 14 days, compared to 28 days for initiating PT later (13+ days). Similarly, the early PT group required fewer PT visits (median: 4) than the late PT group (median: 5). These trends were consistent across all diagnostic groups.
conclusionInitiating PT early, particularly within the first 2 days postinjury, was associated with shorter case durations and fewer PT sessions in people with acute WMSDs. Standardizing early PT protocols in occupational health settings could improve case durations and reduce health care use.
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Registered trials
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