Griffith University, the University of Queensland and the Netherlands’ Maastricht University, in their proposal to integrate traditional physio intervention with new Stress Innoculation Training (SIT) to treat whiplash, are calling on people to participate in their study.
Having obtained a $600, 000 National Health and Medical Research Council grant, the study will be testing to see how SIT, a cognitive behavioural approach which teaches various coping strategies to manage stress-related anxiety, affects people in a randomised controlled study.
To be held at a centre in either Brisbane, Gold Coast, Mackay or Toowoomba, the university teams need 100 people over 18 who have sustained a whiplash injury in the past four weeks to attend 10 treatments over six weeks. Griffith Health Institute’s Professor Michele Sterling said about half of people who suffer a whiplash injury develop chronic pain and disability, with up to 30 per cent suffering significant mental health issues.
“Approximately 50 per cent of those who suffer a whiplash injury will develop chronic pain and disability and up to 30 per cent significant mental health problems,” Professor Sterling said.
“Physio alone has often not proved effective, with many stress-related responses often associated with poor recovery from the condition.
“The primary aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of an intervention aimed at reducing early stress responses (SIT), as compared to a standard physiotherapy exercise approach for individuals with a whiplash injury … The SIT will be carried out by our team of physios and will comprise relaxation techniques and problem solving techniques for everyday life stresses.
“It will be interesting to shed some more light on the question of why some people recover well from whiplash injuries and some don’t,” Professor Sterling said. “Some people’s life stresses can be compounded by whiplash and the stress associated with the accident.”
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