The authors present a study of the consequences of whiplash neck injury, which they conducted after finding some serious limitations in several previous studies. They obtained a non-selective sample, by announcing the study in Swiss Medical Journal and distributing letters to primary care physicians in their area, asking them to refer whiplash patients as soon as possible after their injury. The assessment method is described in other papers by the authors, and included semi-structured interviews, complete neurological and physiological examinations, neck X-rays, and formal psychological and cognitive tests. In the sample of 117 men and women, aged 19 to 51, persistent injury-related symptoms were found in 44% at three months, 30% at six months, 24% at one year, and 18% at two years. Compared with members of the sample who completely recovered, these symptomatic patients were significantly older, reported more rotated or inclined head position at time of impact, were more worried about possible long-lasting symptoms or disability, and at first reported more pain and other subjective symptoms. Several detailed tables and charts of the interviews' findings are given. The study's results support the view that symptom persistence was related to pre-existing cervical spine osteo-arthritis and pretraumatic headaches.
Samenvatting