Whiplash Injuries Come With Chronic Pain: Scientists Try To Identify Problems Early With MRI

Whiplash, a neck injury due to forceful, rapid back-and-forth movements of the neck, that's similar to the cracking of a whip, oftentimes occurs following an a type of accident (oftentimes an automobile accident.) 

Researchers at Northwestern Medicine have now identified that for many who will recover from whiplash injuries, about 25 percent of them will still deal with long-term pain and disability issues for months or years to come.

The study authors used MRI imaging on participants who had developed chronic pain, disability and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) within just the first one and two weeks following the injury. The ability to identify these patients' issues so early on helped health officials zero in on more specialized treatments for them, which was particularly beneficial for those suffering from PTSD.

Furthermore, following one to two weeks after an injury, Northwestern scientists discovered unusual muscular changes in the chronic pain group via a sophisticated MRI that measures the fat/water ratio in the muscles. Further imaging revealed large amounts of fat that infiltrate patients' neck muscles, indicating rapid atrophy. And the fat didn't not seem to carry any relation at all to the individual's body size or shape, even.

Though it's not necessary for all whiplash patients to have an MRI, physicians found it particularly helpful in this study to identify developing symptoms of PTSD. In the future, it could be used to justify the referral of a patient to a psychiatrist or psychologist. Furthermore, the findings may indicate the changing of standard procedures for this health incident. 

"This opens up a new door for research on whiplash," said lead investigator James Elliott, assistant professor of physical therapy and human movement sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg school of Medicine, in a news release  . "For a long time whiplash has been treated as a homogenous condition. Our study has shown these patients are not all the same; they have different clinical signs and symptoms." 

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Spine.