|
Research Articles
Archived Articles
Chiropractic
"Only Proven Effective Treatment" for Chronic Whiplash
Study Says
74% of Chronic Whiplash Patients Improved with Chiropractic
A new study published
in the Journal of Orthopaedic Medicine1 not only
points out the superiority of chiropractic care for chronic whiplash
patients, but also examines which chronic whiplash patients respond
best to chiropractic care. The authors begin the paper by explaining
that:
"Conventional
treatment of patients with whiplash symptoms is disappointing.
"A retrospective
study by Woodward et al., demonstrated that chiropractic treatment
benefited 26 of 28 patients suffering from chronic whiplash syndrome."2
The question
was not whether chiropractic was beneficial for acute whiplash patients,
but to determine "which patients with chronic whiplash will benefit
from chiropractic treatment."
The authors interviewed "100 consecutive chiropractic referrals
for chronic whiplash symptoms," seven of which were "lost to follow
up." They were able to divide the remaining 93 patients into three
symptom groups:
Group 1:
patients with "neck pain radiating in a 'coat hanger' distribution,
associated with restricted range of neck movement but with no neurological
deficit";
Group 2:
patients with "neurological symptoms, signs or both in association
with neck pain and a restricted range of neck movement";
Group 3:
patients who described "severe neck pain but all of whom has a full
range of motion and no neurological symptoms or signs distributed
over specific myotomes or dermatomes." These patients also "described
an unusual complex of symptoms," including "blackouts, visual disturbances,
nausea, vomiting and chest pain, along with a nondermatomal distribution
of pain."
The patients
underwent an average of 19.3 adjustments over the course of 4.1
months (mean). The patients were then surveyed and their improvement
reported as follows:
Group 1
24% - Asymptomatic
24% - Improved by Two Symptom Grades
24% - Improved by One Symptom Grade
28% - No Improvement
Group 2
38% - Asymptomatic
| 43% - |
Improved by Two Symptom Grades |
13% - Improved
by One Symptom Grade
6% - No Improvement
Group
3
0% - Asymptomatic
| 9% - |
Improved by Two Symptom Grades |
| 18%- |
Improved by One Symptom Grade |
| 64%- |
No Improvement |
| 9% - |
Got Worse |
In their discussion,
the authors made these observations:
"Woodward,
et al.,2 found improvement in chronic symptoms in 26
of 28 patients (93%) following chiropractic treatment. Our results
confirm the efficacy of chiropractic, with 69 of our 93 patients
(74%) improving following treatment.
"Our study
suggests that such a group of nonresponders does exist, represented
by group 3. The defining characteristics of patients in this group
were the full range of neck movement in association with neck pain,
bizarre symptoms, female sex and ongoing litigation. The mean age
of the group at 29.5 (16-43) was lower than that of the other two
groups (mean 36.8, range 18-65).
"The results
from this study provide further evidence that chiropractic is an
effective treatment for chronic whiplash symptoms. However, our
identification of a group of patients who fail to respond to such
treatment, highlights the need for a careful history and physical
examination before commencing treatment."
References
- Khan S,
Cook J, Gargan M, Bannister G. A symptomatic classification of
whiplash injury and the implications for treatment. Journal of
Orthopaedic Medicine 1999;21(1):22-25.
- Woodward
MN, Cook JCH, Gargan MF, Bannister GC. Chiropractic treatment
of chronic whiplash injuries. Injury 1996;27:643-645.
|
