Single Photon Emission Computerised Tomography (SPECT) demonstrated diminished blood flow in the parietal-occipital region of 10 patients with severe late whiplash syndrome. Without prior knowledge of which studies were of patients, observers were consistently able to distinguish the examinations from those of 11 normal controls[1].WHIPLASH
In 24 patients with symptoms a year after whiplash, the spinal canal was significantly narrower from front to back than in the same number of patients without persistent symptoms[2].
Patients with dizziness following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury or Cervical Whiplash had impaired balancing mechanisms compared with healthy controls. They depended on visual cues and were unable to use input from the vestibular apparatus to resolve confusion between line of sight and gravity during clinical testing[3].
All 4 patients studied because of headaches after whiplash injury had evidence of injury to the sympathetic nerve supply to face and eyes[4]. In keeping with the previous research literature, the proposed mechanism of headache was damage to the sympathetic nerve supply to arteries, producing a migraine-like effect.
PRACTICE POINT Clients suffering from Late Whiplash Syndrome may have demonstrable abnormalities of:
- Selective attention
- Brain perfusion
- Balancing mechanism
- Sympathetic nerves
- Spinal canal
2 years after whiplash, the small proportion of patients complaining of persistent cognitive difficulties had no memory deficits but did have delayed recovery of the ability to perform tasks requiring divided attention[5].
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