What are people's perspectives on different labels for neck pain after a motor vehicle crash? A content analysis of randomized study data.
Yanfei Xie, Karime Mescouto, Jenna Liimatainen and 14 others
PMID 41187546WHAT IT FOUND
The label "neck strain" made people expect better recovery and prefer exercise, while "neck pain" caused confusion and led to requests for passive treatments and imaging. "Whiplash injury" was the least confusing label.
Choose words carefully to align patient expectations with guideline-recommended active care.
Key findings
01Participants assigned the "neck strain" label most frequently expressed positive expectations and a preference for exercise, while least frequently desiring imaging.
02The "neck pain" label was perceived as the most confusing and prompted the highest preference for passive physical therapies and imaging, which are not first-line guideline recommendations.
03The "whiplash injury" label was the least confusing to participants and was associated with fewer negative expectations compared to "whiplash-associated disorder" and "post-traumatic neck pain".
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study used online vignettes, so participants were not actual patients in a clinical encounter. Their reactions may not reflect how real patients respond to a clinician's diagnosis. Each label was accompanied by a brief explanation. The explanation itself may have influenced perceptions more than the label alone. Data was collected immediately after label assignment. Perceptions may change over time as patients reflect on the diagnosis. Participants were from high-income countries and spoke English, limiting generalizability to other cultural or socioeconomic contexts. The study did not measure actual clinical outcomes or treatment receipt, only stated preferences and perceptions.
Declared interests
The authors have no conflict of interests to declare.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that changing the label alone will guarantee better clinical outcomes. This study measured immediate perceptions and stated preferences in a hypothetical scenario, not long-term recovery or actual treatment adherence in real patients. Also, note that "whiplash injury" was the least confusing label, so avoiding the word "whiplash" entirely might not be practical or preferred by all stakeholders.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →