INDIVIDUALS WITH PERSISTENT ANKLE SYMPTOMS EXPERIENCE DIFFICULTIES AT WORK: A CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY

M. Al Mahrouqi¹, B. Vicenzino², D. MacDonald³, M. Smith⁴

¹Oman College of Health Sciences, Physiotherapy, Muscat, Oman, ²The University of Queensland, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Brisbane, Australia, ³Griffith University, School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Discipline of Physiotherapy, Nathan, Australia, ⁴The University of Queensland, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Division of Physiotherapy, Brisbane, Australia

Background: Chronic ankle pain is prevalent among individuals who are of working age. Pain and functional impairments in people with persistent ankle pain may negatively impact workability.

Purpose: To compare work limitations in working individuals with persistent ankle pain and asymptomatic controls. Secondary aims were to compare function and pain outcomes between working and non-working individuals with persistent ankle symptoms, and identify factors associated with work limitations.

Methods:Design: Cross-sectional study.
Setting: Online survey.
Participants: Individuals with persistent ankle pain (n=90) and asymptomatic controls (n=50) who were in paid or unpaid employment, and non-working individuals with persistent ankle pain (n=47) participated in this study.
Main outcome measurements: The Workplace Ability Limitation Scale was used to collect data on work limitations. General demographics, pain, function, depression, anxiety, kinesiophobia, pain self-efficacy, and pain catastrophizing were also assessed.
Work-related outcomes were compared between working individuals with and without persistent ankle pain. Pain and functional outcomes were compared between working and non-working individuals with persistent ankle pain.

Results: There was a moderate effect for greater work limitations in individuals with persistent ankle pain than controls (standardised mean difference (95% confidence intervals): 1.11 (0.74, 1.74); p<0.001), with 67.8% (n=61) of workers with persistent ankle symptoms reporting moderate or high work limitations compared to 1.9% (n=1) of controls. Workers with persistent ankle pain were younger and reported less ankle pain, less pain in other body sites, higher function, less depression, less catastrophizing and higher pain self-efficacy than non-working individuals with persistent ankle pain. Pain self-efficacy, depression and kinesiophobia were associated with work limitations in individuals with ankle pain.

Conclusions: Limitations at work are common in people with persistent ankle pain. The association between pain self-efficacy, depression, kinesiophobia and workability suggests that these factors should be considered when managing work difficulties in this population.

Implications: Differences in pain, function, co-morbid health problems and psychosocial characteristics between working and non-working individuals with persistent ankle problems. This highlights the need for a comprehensive multi-disciplinary assessment of individuals with chronic ankle symptoms.

Funding acknowledgements: This research did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Keywords:
Ankle pain
Function
Work limitation

Topics:
Musculoskeletal: lower limb
Orthopaedics
Musculoskeletal

Did this work require ethics approval? Yes

Institution: The Unversity of Queensland

Committee: The University of Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee

Ethics number: (#2014001194)