Motor vehicle accidents, with a whiplash mechanism of injury, are one of the most common causes of neck injuries, with an incidence of perhaps 1 million cases per year in the United States. This article reviews the epidemiology, historical aspects, pathology, symptoms and signs, radiographic findings, prognosis, the effect of litigation, and treatment. Rather than endlessly debating whether chronic whiplash syndrome exists, the challenge is to identify treatments to help the sizable minority of whiplash victims with chronic pain.
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