Brian P. Jacob, David C. Chen, Bruce Ramshaw, Shirin Towfigh (eds.) - The SAGES Manual of Groin Pain-Springer International Publishing (2016)

47. Workers’ Compensation:
An Occupational Perspective on Groin
Pain, Including Psychosocial Variables,
Causality, and Return to Work
Joseph S. Pachman and Brian P. Jacob
Introduction
Groin pain and inguinal hernias are a frequent cause of lost work time
[ 1 ]. Despite the fact that elective inguinal hernia repair is a commonly
occurring surgery, there is surprisingly little evidence-based guidance
available regarding return to work, causality determination, and psychosocial
variables that impact post-herniorrhaphy functional recovery [ 2 ].
These issues are of particular relevance to disability insurance payers,
such as workers’ compensation carriers, which are contractually responsible
for medical treatment, as well as indemnity payments for lost wages
that are the result of a workplace injury. Especially since this financial
responsibility may extend for years, there is an interest in addressing
any potentially contributory comorbid conditions that might result in a
more expeditious return to work. In addition to the fiduciary responsibility
to accurately assess causation, there is an incentive to identify all of
the factors that may have contributed to an injury, so that appropriate
prevention practices can be applied as related to future claims.
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
B.P. Jacob et al. (eds.), The SAGES Manual of Groin Pain,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-21587-7_47
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