Health & Fitness Bulletins

May 20, 2025

Whiplash: Good Advice May be a Bad Idea

More than 50% of patients injured in a motor vehicle accident receive a whiplash diagnosis, and nearly half of those patients develop chronic pain lasting longer than six months. To avoid unnecessary medical expenses, doctors will sometimes give patients self-care advice instead of giving them a prescription for physical therapy. It makes sense, but, in reality, advice does not help patients with whiplash. Advice without rehab often results in higher healthcare costs.

We know this in part due to a study by Anita Gross and her research team. They combined the results of thirteen randomized controlled trials studying the effectiveness of self-care teaching for whiplash. Patient education plans included videos, pamphlets, and personal teaching on ergonomics, exercises, activity, and stress. Long-term, the results of this patient education were equal to no treatment. There is good evidence that self-care advice usually does not help patients with whiplash-associated disorders (WAD).

Other studies have measured costs and found that WAD patients denied physical therapy cost 220% more than patients who receive physical therapy as part of their medical care. Patients with physical therapy have less discomfort, better range of motion, get better faster, use less pain medication, and have fewer imaging studies.

Sources

• Teasell R, et al. A research synthesis of therapeutic interventions for whiplash-associated disorder. Journal of Canadian Pain Society. 2010;15(5):323.
• Lamb S, et al. Emergency department treatments and physiotherapy for acute whiplash. The Lancet. 2013 Feb;381(9866):546–56.
• Suissa S, et al. Assessing a whiplash management model. J Rheumatol. 2006;33:581–7.