Self-reported driving habits in subjects with persistent whiplash-associated disorder: relationship to sensorimotor and psychologic features

Pereira MJ, Jull GA, Treleaven JM. Self-reported driving habits in subjects with persistent whiplash-associated disorder: relationship to sensorimotor and psychologic features.

Objectives

To study self-reported driving habits after whiplash injury and to determine any relation among self-reported driving habits, selected sensorimotor impairments, and psychologic features.

Design

Repeated-measures, case-controlled.

Setting

Tertiary institution.

Participants

Subjects (n=30) with chronic whiplash and 30 asymptomatic controls.

Interventions

Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures

The Driving Habits Questionnaire (composite driving tasks score), Neck Disability Index (NDI), 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), Impact of Events Scale−Revised (IES-R), Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia, cervical range of motion, cervical joint position error, and smooth pursuit neck torsion test.

Results

Subjects in the whiplash group had equal driving exposure and driving spaces (distances, locations) compared with control subjects but reported significantly more driving difficulty with most driving tasks (P<.01). There were no significant correlations between the composite driving tasks score and any of the sensorimotor impairments, but there were significant and moderate correlations between the composite driving task score and both pain and disability (NDI score, .518) and anxiety (GHQ-28 score, .518; IES-R score, .524).

Conclusions

Persons with chronic whiplash have greater self-reported driving difficulty than controls, which appears to relate more to reported levels of pain and disability and psychologic stress than laboratory measures of features of cervical sensorimotor control.