EFFECTIVENESS OF MANUAL THERAPY IN THE TREATMENT OF WHIPLASH: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF CLINICAL TRIALS

Abstract

 Objective: locate the scientific evidence about effectiveness of manual therapy in the whiplash. Material and method: we maked a systematic review of clinical trials to check the efficacy of manual therapy in the whiplash treatment. We searched clinical trials (randomized or not), published since 2003 in the databases: Medline, PEDro and Cochrane. We included trials which tested the effectiveness of Manual Therapy alone or in multimodal program including physiotherapy. There were excluded not experimental works or that were not treating the Manual Therapy. Results: we found 28 trials, of which 11 were selected (the remainder were excluded as non-transcendental or inconclusive, or not meet the selection criteria). Four of them comparing the use of the surgical collar with other technical, three studied the effectiveness of the advice treatment over home treatment, one comparing the general medical education with the physiotherapy education and advice. Another study as impact exercises on the ATM in the improvement of whiplash symptomatology, one study the efficacy of dorsal manipulation and another compare one protocol handling and one physiotherapy conventional treatment. Conclusions: there are many manuals' treatments for the subjects exposed to this disease but few interventions showed positive effects. Inside this limitation we can say that the manipulations are associated with improvement whiplash symptomatology, and it is advisable an early active mobilization.