按照一项最新的研究，颈椎过度屈伸损伤的侵入性治疗需要长时的恢复而不是短时间的治疗。

加拿大多伦多的研究学者回顾了1,693例成年颈椎过度屈伸病人，这些病人在1994年7月1日到同年12月31日内被诊断为该病。时间的选择主要是因为该地保险系统的改变。分析的终止时间为恢复的终点，按照天来计算，从疾病的诊断开始到恢复。

学者发现那些拜访家庭医生两次或更少的病人（但是这些病人的诊断结果不是颈椎过度屈伸）表现最好，恢复的终位时间为323天。而那些拜访脊椎指压治疗师六次以上的病人需要363天。而最差的恢复时间是那些访问家庭医生次数很多加上访问脊椎指压治疗师六次以上，这些病人的恢复时间为689天。这项报告发表于关节炎治疗和研究杂志2007年6月号。

研究表明，颈椎过度屈伸损伤的预后受损伤后第一月内治疗类型和密度的影响。

按照学者的说法，以上的研究结论可能是过度依赖于医疗可能是“被动治疗”的一种方式。相比之下，最少的治疗可能会促进受伤部位的活动，这可能是迅速恢复的原因。


Whiplash Treatment Benefits from Benign Neglect 

Aggressive medical care of a whiplash injury is associated with a longer time to recovery than minimal care, claims a new study. 

Researchers at the University Health Network (Toronto, Canada) looked at medical and insurance records of 1,693 adult patients in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan who had claims for whiplash between July 1, 1994 and December 31, 1994. The cut-off date was chosen because the province’s insurance system changed at the end of 1994 from a tort-based to a no-fault system. The primary endpoint of the analysis was time to recovery, defined as the number of days between the beginning and the end of the insurance claim. 

The researchers found that patients who visited a family doctor twice or less (but for whom the submitted diagnosis was not whiplash) did best, with a median time to recovery of 323 days, followed by those who had one or two visits to the doctor, at 362 days, and patients with more than six visits to a chiropractor, at 363 days. The worst recovery time was for patients who made any number of visits to a family doctor, combined with more than six visits to a chiropractor, who had a median time to recovery of 689 days. The study was reported in the June 2007 issue of the journal Arthritis Care & Research. 

he results support the hypothesis that the prognosis of whiplash injuries is influenced by the type and intensity of care received within the first month after injury,?concluded Pierre C.D.C., Ph.D., and colleagues. 

According to the researchers, one possible explanation for the finding is that over-reliance on medical care is a form of "passive coping strategy," which reinforces the view that whiplash often leads to disability. In contrast, minimal care that promotes activation of the injured region is more likely to result in a quicker recovery.