Minimal Vehicle Damage Increased Treatment Duration

Minimal Vehicle Damage Increased Treatment Duration

http://photos.judeandtina.com/Cars/Accident-Damage/ Judes-Car-Accident-Damage/7616824_zkzm2#492641037_nd2zV Many patients present with significant complaints of pain and functional loss after a traumatic event such as a motor vehicle accident. There have been attempts to correlate little or no damage to the vehicle to bodily injury. Thresholds for property damage had arbitrarily been established for bodily injuries which have been proven to be incorrect. In a research paper published in a respected orthopedic journal, Hijioka, Narusawa, & Nakamura (2001) studied data related to the duration of treatment of 400 whiplash cases. Damage to the vehicle was correlated to treatment length. Patients in vehicles with no damage and damage that involved ½ of the vehicle were under treatment longer than those in the other groups.

It is a common misunderstanding to classify many whiplash victims as having injuries that are expected to make a full and complete recovery within 4-6 weeks. The authors of this study stated, “Our data show that only 29% of patients recovered by 4 weeks” (Hijioka et al., 2001, p. 492).

The authors also established pre-existing injury predisposed trauma victims to increased injury and prolonged treatment time by stating, “Degenerative changes occur more frequently with increasing age, and these changes disrupt early tissue repair” (Hijioka et al., 2001, p. 492). Establishing causality, bodily injury and significant functional loss takes detailed examination by a practitioner that understands these principles.

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Reference:

Hijioka, A., Narusawa, K., & Nakamura, T. (2001). Risk factors for long-term treatment of whiplash injury in Japan: Analysis of 400 cases. Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, 121(9), 490-493.