A research synthesis of therapeutic interventions for whiplash-associated disorder: part 1 - overview and summary.

Whiplash-associated disorder (WAD) represents a significant public health problem, resulting in a substantial socioeconomic burden throughout the industrialized world, wherever costs are documented. While many treatments have been advocated for patients with WAD, scientific evidence of their effectiveness is often lacking. A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the strength of evidence supporting various WAD therapies. Multiple databases (including Web of Science, EMBASE and PubMed) were searched to identify all studies published from January 1980 through March 2009 that evaluated the effectiveness of any clearly defined treatment for acute (less than two weeks), subacute (two to 12 weeks) or chronic (longer than 12 weeks) WAD. The present article, the first in a five-part series, provides an overview of the review methodology as well as a summary and discussion of the review's main findings. Eighty-three studies met the inclusion criteria, 40 of which were randomized controlled trials. The majority of studies (n=47) evaluated treatments initiated in the chronic stage of the disorder, while 23 evaluated treatments for acute WAD and 13 assessed therapies for subacute WAD. Exercise and mobilization programs for acute and chronic WAD had the strongest supporting evidence, although many questions remain regarding the relative effectiveness of various protocols. At present, there is insufficient evidence to support any treatment for subacute WAD. For patients with chronic WAD who do not respond to conventional treatments, it appears that radiofrequency neurotomy may be the most effective treatment option. The present review found a relatively weak but growing research base on which one could make recommendations for patients at any stage of the WAD continuum. Further research is needed to determine which treatments are most effective at reducing the disabling symptoms associated with WAD.

A research synthesis of therapeutic interventions for whiplash-associated disorder (WAD): part 2 - interventions for acute WAD.

Whiplash-associated disorder (WAD) represents a significant public health problem, resulting in substantial social and economic costs throughout the industrialized world. While many treatments have been advocated for patients with WAD, scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness is often lacking. A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the strength of evidence associated with various WAD therapies. Multiple databases (including Web of Science, EMBASE and PubMed) were searched to identify all studies published from January 1980 through March 2009 that evaluated the effectiveness of any clearly defined treatment for acute (less than two weeks), subacute (two to 12 weeks) or chronic (more than 12 weeks) WAD. The present article, the second in a five-part series, evaluates the evidence for interventions initiated during the acute phase of WAD. Twenty-three studies that met the inclusion criteria were identified, 16 of which were randomized controlled trials with 'fair' overall methodological quality (median Physiotherapy Evidence Database score of 5.5). For the treatment of acute WAD, there was strong evidence to suggest that not only is immobilization with a soft collar ineffective, but it may actually impede recovery. Conversely, although exercise programs, active mobilization and advice to act as usual all appeared to improve recovery, it is not clear which of these interventions was the most effective. While there was also evidence supporting the use of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy and methylprednisolone infusion, the evidence was insufficient to establish the effectiveness of either of these treatments. Based on current evidence, activation-based therapy is recommended for the treatment of acute WAD; however, additional research is required to determine the relative effectiveness of various exercise/mobilization programs.

A research synthesis of therapeutic interventions for whiplash-associated disorder (WAD): part 3 - interventions for subacute WAD.

Whiplash-associated disorder (WAD) represents a significant public health problem, resulting in substantial social and economic costs throughout the industrialized world. While many treatments have been advocated for patients with WAD, scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness is often lacking. A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the strength of evidence associated with various WAD therapies. Multiple databases (including Web of Science, EMBASE and PubMed) were searched to identify all studies published from January 1980 through March 2009 that evaluated the effectiveness of any clearly defined treatment for acute (less than two weeks), subacute (two to 12 weeks) or chronic (longer than 12 weeks) WAD. The present article, the third in a five-part series, evaluates the evidence for interventions initiated during the subacute phase of WAD. Thirteen studies that met the inclusion criteria were identified, six of which were randomized controlled trials with 'good' overall methodology (median Physiotherapy Evidence Database score of 6). Although some evidence was identified to support the use of interdisciplinary interventions and chiropractic manipulation, the evidence was not strong for any of the evaluated treatments. There is a clear need for further research to evaluate interventions aimed at treating patients with subacute WAD because there are currently no interventions satisfactorily supported by the research literature.

A research synthesis of therapeutic interventions for whiplash-associated disorder (WAD): part 5 - surgical and injection-based interventions for chronic WAD.

Whiplash-associated disorder (WAD) represents a significant public health problem, resulting in substantial social and economic costs throughout the industrialized world. While many treatments have been advocated for patients with WAD, scientific support regarding their effectiveness is often lacking. A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the strength of evidence associated with various WAD therapies. Multiple databases (including Web of Science, EMBASE and PubMed) were searched to identify all studies published from January 1980 through March 2009 that evaluated the effectiveness of any well-defined treatment for acute (less than two weeks), subacute (two to 12 weeks) or chronic (more than 12 weeks) WAD. The present article, the fifth in a five-part series, evaluates the evidence for surgical and injection-based interventions initiated during the chronic phase of WAD. Twenty-five studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria, six of which were randomized controlled trials with 'good' overall methodological quality (median Physiotherapy Evidence Database score of 7.5). For the treatment of chronic WAD, there was moderate evidence supporting radiofrequency neurotomy as an effective treatment for whiplash-related pain, although relief is not permanent. Sterile water injections have been demonstrated to be superior to saline injections; however, it is not clear whether this treatment is actually beneficial. There was evidence supporting a wide range of other interventions (eg, carpal tunnel decompression) with each of these evaluated by a single nonrandomized controlled trial. There is contradictory evidence regarding the effectiveness of botulinum toxin injections, and cervical discectomy and fusion. The evidence is not yet strong enough to establish the effectiveness of any of these treatments; of all the invasive interventions for chronic WAD, radiofrequency neurotomy appears to be supported by the strongest evidence. Further research is required to determine the efficacy and the role of invasive interventions in the treatment of chronic WAD.

A research synthesis of therapeutic interventions for whiplash-associated disorder (WAD): part 4 - noninvasive interventions for chronic WAD.

Whiplash-associated disorder (WAD) represents a significant public health problem, resulting in substantial social and economic costs throughout the industrialized world. While many treatments have been advocated for patients with WAD, scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness is often lacking. A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the strength of evidence for various WAD therapies. Multiple databases (including Web of Science, EMBASE and PubMed) were searched to identify all studies published from January 1980 through March 2009 that evaluated the effectiveness of any clearly defined treatment for acute (less than two weeks), subacute (two to 12 weeks) or chronic (longer than 12 weeks) WAD. The present article, the fourth in a five-part series, evaluates the evidence for noninvasive interventions initiated during the chronic phase of WAD. Twenty-two studies that met the inclusion criteria were identified, 12 of which were randomized controlled trials with 'good' overall methodological quality (median Physiotherapy Evidence Database score of 6). For the treatment of chronic WAD, there is evidence to suggest that exercise programs are effective in relieving whiplash-related pain, at least over the short term. While the majority of a subset of nine studies supported the effectiveness of interdisciplinary interventions, the two randomized controlled trials provided conflicting results. Finally, there was limited evidence, consisting of one supportive case series each, that both manual joint manipulation and myofeedback training may provide some benefit. Based on the available research, exercise programs were the most effective noninvasive treatment for patients with chronic WAD, although many questions remain regarding the relative effectiveness of various exercise regimens.