Exercise and Cognitive Functioning in People With Chronic Whiplash-Associated Disorders: A Controlled Laboratory Study.

STUDY

DESIGN

Controlled laboratory study.

BACKGROUND

In addition to persistent pain, people with chronic whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) commonly deal with cognitive dysfunctions. In healthy individuals, aerobic exercise has a positive effect on cognitive performance, and preliminary evidence in other chronic pain conditions reveals promising results as well. However, there is evidence that people with chronic WAD may show a worsening of the symptom complex following physical exertion.

OBJECTIVE

To examine postexercise cognitive performance in people with chronic WAD.

METHODS

People with chronic WAD (n = 27) and healthy, inactive, sex- and age-matched controls (n = 27) performed a single bout of an incremental submaximal cycling exercise. Before and after the exercise, participants completed 2 performance-based cognitive tests assessing selective and sustained attention, cognitive inhibition, and simple and choice reaction time.

RESULTS

At baseline, people with chronic WAD displayed significantly lower scores on sustained attention and simple reaction time (P<.001), but not on selective attention, cognitive inhibition, and choice reaction time (P>.05), compared with healthy controls. Postexercise, both groups showed significantly improved selective attention and choice reaction time (chronic WAD, P = .001; control, P<.001), while simple reaction time significantly increased (P = .037) only in the control group. In both groups, no other significant changes in sustained attention, cognitive inhibition, pain, and fatigue were observed (P>.05).

CONCLUSION

In the short term, postexercise cognitive functioning, pain, and fatigue were not aggravated in people with chronic WAD. However, randomized controlled trials are required to study the longer-term and isolated effects of exercise on cognitive functioning.