[Whiplash in insurance medicine: lessons for physicians].

The number of employees applying for a labour disability benefit due to whiplash has gradually decreased during the last 25 years in the Netherlands. The total number of applicants seems to stabilise around 30% of the number around the turn of the century. This is surprising given that the professional standards for social insurance physicians emphasise the importance of rehabilitation, while courts hardly ever judge in favour of benefit claimants. We investigate the underlying reasons for the changing statistics and make a recommendation on how social insurance physicians can best approach a claimant.