Whiplash treatment options
If you've experienced whiplash, finding trustworthy information can be difficult. This resource is designed to help people make informed decisions about treatment and recovery from whiplash.
The Whiplash Treatment Options resource provides clear, reliable information for people with whiplash, their families, and healthcare professionals. Each page summarises evidence for and against different whiplash treatments. These summaries are designed to support best-practice care and better recovery outcomes.
The information in this resource is intended to support discussions with your healthcare provider. It should not replace professional medical advice.
RECOVER Injury Research Centre and the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Recovery Following Traffic Injuries (2014-2019) established this whiplash resource to provide high-quality, evidence-based information to enhance rehabilitation outcomes for people with whiplash. The resource was prepared by the International Centre for Allied Health Evidence (iCAHE).
This resource is endorsed by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and Healthdirect Australia.
Rating system
☺☺☺ = Effective ☺☺ = Useful ☺ = Promising ʘ = Not effective Ø = No research
☺☺☺Effective: The treatments are effective. They are consistently supported by scientific evidence.
☺☺ Useful: These treatments are useful. They are supported by some scientific evidence, but the evidence is not consistently supported.
☺ Promising: These treatments are promising and may be useful. They have some evidence to support them, but more evidence is needed to be sure they work.
ʘ Not effective: On the available evidence, these treatments do not seem to be effective.
Ø No research: These treatments have not been properly researched. It is not possible to say whether they are useful or not.
Participate in research at RECOVER
Whether you're a patient, family member, clinician, lived-experience expert, or community member, you can help improve recovery by participating in research.