Whiplash syndrome is a cluster of symptoms that are commonly attributed to an obscure neck injury following a motor vehicle accident. The symptoms include headache, neck pain, neck spasm, jaw pain, shoulder pain, diffuse numbness and weakness in the upper extremities. It is considered to be chronic when it persists beyond 6-12 months. There is virtually a complete overlap of this syndrome with both the shoulder instability neurologic syndrome and the brachial plexus compression syndrome. The results of this study suggest that the whiplash syndrome should be divided into radicular syndromes, myelopathic syndromes, and brachial-plexus traction and compression syndromes. Out of 29 patients with brachial plexus injuries, only 1 patient didn't have any evidence of shoulder instability. These preliminary results suggest that chronic whiplash is not a hopeless disease, and suggests that automotive design modification as well as improvement in treatment of these problems can result in significant reduction of the morbidity associated with survivable motor vehicle accidents.
Abstract