APTEI: Whiplash & Neck Pain - Assumptions vs The Evidence for Effective Management

Overview

Patients diagnosed with Whiplash Associated Disorders (WADs) are frequently seen by healthcare providers who all claim to offer "THE BEST" management to help in their recovery. Sadly as of 2023, despite hundreds of RCTs, there is no known "BEST" single strategy.

However, we do know that certain interventions that promote passive coping skills, potentially increase the risk of developing chronic disability associated with their WAD. We also know that promoting active coping skills and assurance of recovery are potentially beneficial and reduce the risk of developing long-term disability.

Regrettably too often both clinicians and patients are adamant about the "find it & fix it" model of treating WADs which seems to be quite ineffective and arguably harmful for some.

This systematic review summarizes it really well by stating, “An individual's experience with neck pain is a multidimensional phenomenon in which physical, psychological, and social dimensions influence each other.” – Miatrello et al 2022 Systematic Review

This course aims to discuss how healthcare providers such as physiotherapists can best incorporate this multi-dimensional approach to care.

Learning Objectives

In this online course, you will learn:

• The risk factors for delayed recovery for individuals with acute WAD
• To incorporate ideal functional outcome measures for evaluating progress in WADs without completing any questionnaires
• Simple clinical skills for reliably identifying patients at risk of developing central sensitization
• Specific neuromuscular training exercises for optimizing recovery
• To clinically apply valid cervical joint position sense (JPS) evaluation and prescribe specific JPS retraining exercises
• How to best offer pain education & reassurance to minimize fear and catastrophization, therefore optimizing return to function

Audience

This course is for all healthcare providers such as PTs, PTAs, RMTs, MDs, Chiropractors, and osteopaths who wish to know the latest evidence (as of 2022) for preventing potential chronicity and providing optimal management for those dealing with WADs.