Overall , as a therapeutic intervention , structured patient education was equal or less effective than other conservative treatments including massage , supervised exercise , and physiotherapy .
However , structured patient education may provide small benefits when combined with physiotherapy .
Either mode of delivery ( ie , oral or written education ) provides similar results in patients with recent WAD .
Results suggest that structured patient education alone can not be expected to yield large benefits in clinical effectiveness compared with other conservative interventions for patients with WAD or NAD .
Moreover , structured patient education may be of benefit during the recovery of patients with WAD when used as an adjunct therapy to physiotherapy or emergency room care .
These benefits are small and short lived
BACKGROUND CONTEXT In 2008 , the Bone and Joint Decade 2000 to 2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders recommended patient education for the management of neck pain .
However , the effectiveness of education interventions has recently been challenged .
PURPOSE To up date the findings of the Bone and Joint Decade 2000 to 2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders and evaluate the effectiveness of structured patient education for the management of patients with whiplash-associated disorders ( WAD ) or neck pain and associated disorders ( NAD ) .
OUTCOME MEASURES Self-rated recovery , functional recovery ( eg , disability , return to activities , work , or school ) , pain intensity , health-related quality of life , psychological outcomes such as depression or fear , or adverse effects .
The reliability of the Vernon and Mior neck disability index, and its validity compared with the short form-36 health survey questionnaire
Prospect i ve single cohort study . To evaluate the NDI by comparison with the SF36 health Survey Question naire . The NDI is a simple ten-item question naire used to assess patients with neck pain . The SF36 measures functional ability , well being and the overall health of patients . It is used as a gold st and ard in health economics to assess the health utility , gain and economic impact of medical interventions . One hundred and sixty patients with neck pain attending the spinal clinic completed self- assessment question naires .  A second question naire was completed in 34 patients after a period of 1–2 weeks . The internal consistency of the NDI and SF36 was calculated using Cronbach ’s alpha . The test – retest reliability was assessed using the Bl and and Altman method . The concurrent validity of the NDI with respect to the SF-36 was assessed using Pearson correlations . Both question naires showed robust internal consistency : Cronbach ’s alpha for the NDI scale was acceptable ( 0.864 , 95 % confidence limits 0.825–0.894 ) though slightly smaller than that of the SF36 . The correlations between each item of the NDI scores and the total NDI score ranged from 0.447 to 0.659 , ( all with P < 0.001 ) . The test – retest reliability of the NDI was high ( intra-class correlation 0.93 , 95 % confidence limits 0.86–0.97 ) and comparable with the best values found for SF36 . The correlations between NDI and SF36 domains ranged from −0.45 to −0.74 ( all with P < 0.001 ) . We have shown that the NDI has good reliability and validity and that it compares well with the SF36 in the spinal surgery out patient setting
Overall , as a therapeutic intervention , structured patient education was equal or less effective than other conservative treatments including massage , supervised exercise , and physiotherapy .
However , structured patient education may provide small benefits when combined with physiotherapy .
Either mode of delivery ( ie , oral or written education ) provides similar results in patients with recent WAD .
Results suggest that structured patient education alone can not be expected to yield large benefits in clinical effectiveness compared with other conservative interventions for patients with WAD or NAD .
Moreover , structured patient education may be of benefit during the recovery of patients with WAD when used as an adjunct therapy to physiotherapy or emergency room care .
These benefits are small and short lived
BACKGROUND CONTEXT In 2008 , the Bone and Joint Decade 2000 to 2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders recommended patient education for the management of neck pain .
However , the effectiveness of education interventions has recently been challenged .
PURPOSE To up date the findings of the Bone and Joint Decade 2000 to 2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders and evaluate the effectiveness of structured patient education for the management of patients with whiplash-associated disorders ( WAD ) or neck pain and associated disorders ( NAD ) .
OUTCOME MEASURES Self-rated recovery , functional recovery ( eg , disability , return to activities , work , or school ) , pain intensity , health-related quality of life , psychological outcomes such as depression or fear , or adverse effects .