In this study, late whiplash syndrome (LWS) was treated with a series of osteopathic treatments to evaluate improvement in symptoms. LWS is the clinical manifestation resulting from whiplash injury. Forty-two patients (mean age 39 years) were evaluated who had LWS due to rear-end car collisions. The intervention was 5 individualized customtailored osteopathic treatments at 1 week intervals. The main outcome measure was the neck-related pain and disability as determined by the Neck pain and Disability Scale (NPAD) and the quality of life assessed on the SF-36. The presence of PTSD was also diagnosed. The results showed that there was clinically relevant and statistically significant improvements in the osteopathic treatment period for the NPAD. In the intervention phase, the NPAD dropped from 41.5 to 26.0 points, which corresponds to an improvement of 37% (95% CI 11.1-19.8). For the SF-36, both the physical and mental component summary showed a significant and substantial improvement during the treatment phase. Prior to treatment, 17 patients were diagnosed with PTSD, this number feel to only 6 during observation. The authors conclude that 5 osteopathic treatments had a beneficial effect on the physical and mental aspects of LWS. J Altern Complement Med. 2013. PMID: 23273259.
