Trajectories of posttraumatic stress symptoms after whiplash: A prospective cohort study

ConclusionsThree trajectories were identified, with the chronic trajectory suggesting that a significant subset of people does not recover from PTSD symptoms. This class also reported more pain ‐related disability. Pain and depression predicted membership, but did, however, not succeed in differentiating between the two high‐starting trajectories, suggesting that targeting PTSD symptoms may be important to ensure recovery.SignificanceDistinct recovery patterns after whiplash were identified with a significant subgroup reporting elevated and slightly increasing PTSD symptoms over time, highlighting both recovery variability and the presence of PTSD symptoms in a significant subgroup of individuals with whiplash. This subgroup also displayed enhanced pain ‐related disability over time compared to the recovering and resilient subgroups, thereby linking PTSD symptoms to functional pain outcomes over time. These findings suggest that clinicians should be attentive of potential PTSD symptoms in whiplash patients.
Source: European Journal of Pain - Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research