Whiplash Litigation Neurosis
“Some patients in the author’s study had associated injuries. In addition to injuring their necks, they sprained their ankles of broke their wrists. Normal painless function returned to their ankles and wrists in the expected period of time. These patients did not complain for month aftermonth about painful ankles or wrists, but they did still complain of neck pain. It is difficult to understand why litigation neurosis in these instances should be confined to the neck.”
Ian Macnab
Associate Professor of Surgery, University of Toronto
Chief of Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, WellesleyHospital, Toronto.
“Acceleration Extension Injuries of the Cervical Spine” Chapter 10 in THE SPINE by Rothman and Simeone.
WB Saunders Company, 1982, Page 653
Whiplash, Hearing Loss, and Upper Cervical Manipulation
[“Little known sequelae of sprains of the cervical spine”]
“After cervical sprain not only pain and neuropsychological disturbances may occur, but also the following sequelae: cervical dystonia, and torticollis, dizziness, hearing loss for low frequencies, dysphonia and globus.”
[Globus is a sensation of something stuck or of a lump or tightness in the throat.]“Except for dystonia the symptoms often respond to manipulation of a blocked articulation between occiput and atlas or axis and the third cervical vertebra.”
Kaeser HE, Ettlin T.
Schweiz Rundsch Med Prax.
December 2, 1999 88(49):2021-4.
Acceleration Of Degenerative Disc Disease Following Whiplash Injuries
“Follow-up roentgenograms taken an average of 7 years after injury in one series of patients without prior roentgenographic evidence of disc disease indicated that 39% had developed degenerative disc disease at one or more disc levels since injury.” There was an expected incidence of 6% degenerative change in the population over this period of time. “Thus, it appeared that the injury had started the slow process of disc degeneration.”
“In another follow-up study of patients with similar injuries but with preexisting degenerative changes in the neck, it was observed that after an average of 7 years 39% had residual symptoms, and roentgenographic evidence of new degenerative change at another level occurred in 55%.”
“Of considerable interest was the finding in both series that there was no statistical correlation between the development of degenerative changes and continued symptoms.”
The Cervical Spine
The Cervical Spine Research Society
Lippincott, 1989
Mason Hohl, MD
Professor of Surgery/Orthopedics, UCLAMedicalCenter
Page 440
