The Spinal Injury Foundation Refutes Whiplash Injury 'Care' Study
A study by Cote et al published in the Archives of Internal Medicine reported that whiplash injury patients who were treated more often by GPs or chiropractors were more likely to have residual pain after one year than those who treat less often. These authors conclude that it is the treatment rather than the injury that is the cause of the chronic symptoms, a conclusion that has been rebutted by Freeman and Centeno et al.
Portions of the rebuttal that was published in the Archives are excerpted below. The full article can be viewed by clicking here
http://spinalinjuryfoundation.org/research%20PDF/ArchintmedrebuttalMDF.pdf
“Cote et al assert that patients who initially treat more frequently with chiropractors and general practitioners go on to have longer recoveries than those who treat less, the cause of the prolonged recovery is the treatment. Not once in this paper did the authors mention the common sense conclusion that patients with more severe injuries tend to both treat more frequently initially and take longer to recover from their injuries. The authors’ conclusion that treatment for a painful injury prolongs the duration of the injury is unsupported beyond the misinterpretation of their data and possibly misrepresentation of their results.
It is clear from the authors’ own data that patients with pre-existing conditions needed more medical care. The common sense conclusion which these authors conveniently overlooked is that patients with relatively poorer pre-crash health are more likely to be more significantly injured in a crash in comparison with their healthier counterparts, and they are also more likely to require more initial treatment as a result. Contrast this with the authors’ conclusion that it is the ‘clinicians who promote frequent visits (emphasis added).’
It is not surprising in the least that the more significantly injured and more fragile patients went on to suffer more persisting symptoms following an injury, regardless of their frequency of treatment. What is surprising is how Cote et al. twisted this common sense finding into a new paradigm of healthcare: the more treatment a patient receives, the sicker he or she gets. The authors cite no publications to support their new theory of the dangers of healthcare.”
A complete copy of " A Review and Methodological Critique of the Literature Refuting Whiplash Syndrome" by Freeman et al can also be viewed at the Spinal Injury Foundation website by clicking here.
Whiplash personal injury compensation
If you've suffered a whiplash injury through no fault of your own you could be in a position to make a personal injury compensation claim.
It won't cost you a single penny to make a claim with YouClaim and you can also keep 100% of any compensation that is awarded. Our panel of expert solicitors have an excellent success rate and extensive experience in pursuing claims for whiplash injuries.
So give us a call on 0800 10 757 95 and we will offer you free legal advice, answer any questions you may have and can even begin your no win, no fee accident claim today.
