Effects of Neck-Specific Exercises Compared to Waiting List for Individuals With Chronic Whiplash-Associated Disorders: A Prospective, Randomized Controlled Study

• The results showed that neck-specific exercises (NSEs) significantly benefited neck disability, self-efficacy, and health-related quality of life compared with the untreated group.
• There was significant improvement over time in all outcomes for the NSE group, and mostly significant worsening over time for the untreated group.
• The results indicated that NSEs were more beneficial than no intervention while on a waiting list for individuals with chronic whiplash-associated disorders.

ObjectiveTo determine whether 3 months of neck-specific exercises (NSEs) could benefit individuals with chronic whiplash-associated disorder (WAD) who were on a waiting list (WL) for treatment.DesignA prospective, randomized controlled study.SettingPrimary health care.ParticipantsIndividuals (N=41; 31 women, 10 men; mean age ± SD, 38±11.2y) with chronic (6–36mo) WAD, grades 2 and 3, were analyzed.InterventionsPatients were randomly assigned to NSEs or no treatment for 3 months.Main Outcome MeasuresNeck-specific disability (Neck Disability Index [NDI]), neck pain (visual analog scale), general pain-related disability (Pain Disability Index [PDI]), self-perceived performance ability (Self-Efficacy Scale [SES]), and health-related quality of life (EuroQol 5 dimensions [EQ-5D]) were measured.ResultsNSEs significantly improved the NDI, SES, and EQ-5D compared with WL (P<.01). There was significant improvement (P<.0001) over time in all outcomes for NSEs, and apart from the PDI, significant worsening (P=.002–.0002) over time for the untreated group.ConclusionsNSEs were more beneficial than no intervention while on a WL for individuals with chronic WAD.