The remaining 50% is financially compensated. The WC was obtained from the accident insurance’s administrative data. The reliability and validity

of the WC assessment conducted by physicians are unknown. Patient characteristics and probable predictors influencing recovery were recorded before FCE and included age, sex, body mass index, marital status, mother language, duration since injury, number of previous injury claims, litigation, percentage at work, job contract, education status, and physical work demands. Potential predictor variables were selected based on previous studies1 and 4 and clinical experience. The FCE used in this study (WADs FCE) consisted of 8 tests, based on the Isernhagen Work System (now known as WorkWell FCE)11: handgrip strength right-handed, lifting floor to waist, lifting waist to overhead, Selleck Roxadustat short 2-handed carry, long carry right-handed, overhead working, repetitive reaching right-handed, and walking Dabrafenib order speed (50-m walking test). Test details are described in appendix 1. Reliability of WADs FCE tests is good to excellent, and the tests are safe.21 Pain intensity was measured

with an 11-point numeric rating scale ranging from no pain (0) to worst pain (10).22 Patients were asked to rate their momentary pain (pain now), worst pain (pain maximum), and mildest pain (pain minimum) during the last week. The numeric rating scale has demonstrated reliability and validity in patients with neck pain.23 Perceived recovery (recovery question) is a categorical global self-assessment using the question “How well, do you feel, you are recovering from your injuries?”, with the following response options: (1) all better (cured); (2) feeling quite a bit of for improvement; (3) feeling some improvement; (4) feeling no improvement; (5) getting a little worse; and (6) getting much worse. We defined participants as “(somehow) improved” when they reported feeling “all

better”, or “feeling quite a bit of improvement”, or “feeling some improvement.”24 The recovery question was asked by the rehabilitation physician before the FCE tests; the recovery question was found reliable in patients with WADs.25 Neck pain–related disability was measured with the Neck Disability Index (NDI). The NDI contains 10 items: pain intensity, personal care, lifting, reading, headaches, concentration, work, driving, sleeping, and recreation. The scale of each item ranges from no disability (0) to total disability (5). Higher NDI scores indicate more disability. The NDI is reliable and deemed valid.26 The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to assess the symptom severity of anxiety disorders and depression in the nonpsychiatric population. The HADS consists of 2 subscales, one for anxiety and one for depression (A and D subscales). Each scale contains 7 items, with each item rated from 0 (best) to 3 (worst). The scale scores are calculated by summing the responses up to a maximum score of 21 points (severe case) per scale.