Optimism aids whiplash recovery
An optimistic outlook can lead
whiplash victims to a quicker recovery, new research has shown.
Doctors from the Institute of Environmental Medicine in Stockholm, Sweden, found that a whiplash sufferer’s expectation of recovery can help speed up their recuperation even when the severity of their mental and physical symptoms was considered.
The group of researchers studied and compared the level of expectation regarding recovery in over 1,000 adults who made a whiplash injury claim over a period of 12 months. Using assessments at different periods of recovery, they discovered that there was a correlation between a patient’s optimism and their recovery time.
It was found that those patients with a lower expectation of recovery were four times more likely to have more severe disabilities initially, and two times more likely to have moderate disability six months after suffering the initial injury.
Dr Lena Holm from the institute remarked to Reuters: "There is a dose-response relation between recovery expectations and the degree of subsequent disability".
Updated on 10/06/2008