Personal injury compensation news
03/07/2007

Whiplash study makes surprising findings

For those making whiplash injury claims, repeated visits to neck injury specialists are an all too familiar reality.

The litany of visits to medical professionals often including chiropractors, osteopaths, general practitioners, physiotherapists, neurologists and whiplash injury treatment centres can be a depressing and arduous process.

However, new research that will be of interest to anyone making a whiplash injury claim in the UK makes controversial findings regarding the impact of intensive whiplash injury treatment.

Researchers from the University of Toronto studied the whiplash injury treatment given to nearly 1,700 patients. Surprisingly, what they found suggests that a counter-intuitive approach to whiplash injury treatment may be the best method of aiding recovery.

They reported that intensifying the frequency of visits to a GP to over two visits, or adding additional specialist whiplash injury care to GP visits, actually had the effect of slowing recovery times.

This news will undoubtedly prove curious to anyone making a no win, no fee whiplash injury claim as it raises the possibility that a less is more' approach to treating whiplash injuries may be the best option.

One possible explanation for this phenomenon, the researchers noted, could be that GPs who book whiplash patients in for extra visits or refer them for supplementary whiplash specialist care could be prolonging recovery by legitimising patients fears and creating unnecessary anxiety'.

Another factor in slowing recovery times that could be of interest to those making whiplash injury claims, the researchers suggest, is early aggressive treatment. The authors of the study explain, "Reliance of frequent clinical care, a form of passive coping strategy, may have a negative effect on recovery by reinforcing the patient's belief that whiplash injuries often lead to disability."

The current study supports a previous one also carried out by the University of Toronto. In the older study they looked solely at a cohort of patients who were in the process of making whiplash injury claims for compensation.

It was speculated in the findings from that study that the longer recovery time for those who regularly received treatment for their whiplash injuries may be because patients unconsciously perceive their injuries as worse in order to aid their whiplash injury compensation claims.

It also suggested that in some rare cases, patients may even manipulate medical practitioners into worsening diagnosis so they can then present compelling evidence to their personal injury solicitors in order to achieve a more beneficial whiplash injury claim outcome.

But there is no suggestion that whiplash injury sufferers should steer clear of medical help just yet. In fact, the study recommends that early and effective whiplash injury treatment still represents the best chance of a quick recovery.

It is not thought that the study's findings will have any bearing on the outcome of no win, no fee whiplash injury claims in the UK as it is just one piece of research in the universal jigsaw of whiplash studies.

In the UK the majority of whiplash injury claims are associated with claims for car accident compensation