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Summary
This study is a cross-sectional age and sex-matched comparison of the clinical signs and radiographic features of 41 patients 10 years after whiplash injury, with 80 clinical and 100 radiographic controls.
Abstract
The symptoms and signs of 41 patients who had sustained a whiplash injury 10 years previously were compared with 80 age-matched controls and their radiographs with 100 age-matched controls.
Neck pain, paraesthesia and occipital headaches were 8, 16 and 11 times more prevalent in the whiplash group (p<0.001). Back pain had comparable prevalence in the two groups, but in combination with neck pain, occurred 32 times more frequently in the whiplash group. Patients between 31 and 40 years demonstrated relative neck stiffness in all planes after whiplash (p<0.05).
Radiographic degenerative changes in the cervical spine appeared 10 years earlier in the whiplash group (p<0.001).
The symptom complex after whiplash is relatively specific and contrasts with musculoskeletal pain in the general population.
The prevalence of degenerative changes in the younger cervical spine suggests that the condition has an organic basis.