The journal Postgraduate Medicine has a good review article on whiplash. Although it is dated (published in 2001), healthcare professionals and other humans should find it informative.

The most interesting statement in light of an earlier post on this site regarding the intensity of care and recovery is the following.

“For strong advocates of chronic whiplash syndrome one major unsettling question remains: Why does it not occur with the same frequency in countries where there is not the same fear of long-term disability and investment by the medical community, insurance companies, and the legal profession?”

“In Lithuania, for example, automobile insurance is a rarity, and preconceived notions that a whiplash injury will have long-term consequences do not exist.”

And in Canada…

“The number of whiplash claims filed under a no-fault insurance system introduced on January 1, 1995 (in which no payments were given for pain and suffering) was reduced by 28%, compared with the previous tort system, and the median time to closure of claims was reduced by more than 200 days.”

How does one conduct a CAM study (or any study) in a condition where there appears to be such a prevalent confounding factor?

6/29/06 17:25 JR