Treatment of Chronic Pain Consequent to Motor Vehicle Collisions¹

Most victims of motor vehicle collisions (MVC) related injuries recover in a timely manner. However, a small percentage of individuals go on to develop chronic pain, imposing long-term impacts on the healthcare system, the medico-legal system, and the economy due to frequent healthcare utilization, active compensation cases, and absence from work. This chapter acknowledges the limited number of studies that address the treatment of pain in the MVC context and establish the applicability of the general chronic pain treatment literature to the treatment of chronic pain occurring consequent to MVCs. Traumatic brain injuries, whether mild or severe, are characterized by cognitive changes that are long-lasting, have pervasive effects on overall functioning, and that require significant adjustment. The general traumatic brain injury literature is very extensive and includes a substantial number of studies that address traumatic brain injury occurring consequent to MVC involvement. Rehabilitation of MVC-related chronic pain patients begins with an interdisciplinary assessment, which is then used to tailor-specific levels of interventions within a multimodal disability management program. The biopsychosocial perspective of pain and disability is not merely limited to chronic pain, but can also be applied to acute pain consequent to MVC-related injuries.