An integrated physiotherapy/cognitive-behavioural approach to the analysis and treatment of chronic whiplash associated disorders, WAD.

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to describe a model for an integrated physiotherapy/cognitive-behavioural approach in the analysis and treatment of chronic WAD patients, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach in three experimental single case studies. Three patients with a diagnosis of chronic WAD were included in the study. Psychological and physical functional analyses were used to describe the problem areas and as a basis for the management of WAD. A programme including learning of basic and applied skills, generalization, and maintenance was carried through. The results showed that functional behavioural analyses can be useful in physiotherapy for structured patient assessment and in planning of treatment. It was also shown that physiotherapy integrated with cognitive behavioural components decreased the patients' pain intensity in problematic daily activities.