Incidence of Whiplash Lower Than Expected

"A study of people involved in high-energy road collisions reported in the Aug. 1 issue of Spine showed a surprisingly low incidence of whiplash. 'Whiplash is considered to be a soft tissue injury of the neck sustained by occupants of motor vehicles. Use of the term in the past had been restricted to hyperextension injuries following a rear impact, but is commonly now used for all types of impact,' write Hammad Malik, MRCS, from Wrightington Hospital in Wigan, and Martyn Lovell, FRCS, from the Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester, U.K. 'No relationship has been found between velocity or force of injury and incidence or outcome of whiplash.'"