Persistent Pain After Motor Vehicle Crashes & Fibromyalgia

Persistent Pain After Motor Vehicle Crashes & Fibromyalgia

Evaluating the trauma patient properly also includes determining the mechanism of injury and the resultant bodily injury. Sometimes there are major forces at work and other minor, however regardless of the forces involved, each victims body must be evaluated on an individual basis. Although we look at each victim as an individual, it helps to see what the research says about large groups. In a recent paper by Gopinath et al (2015) the authors state, “Among people injured in a motor vehicle crash, there is evidence to show that persistent symptoms are common even after a ‘minor collision’ and can lead to considerable ongoing personal impact” [pg. 1111] This is important since many time, “minor collisions’ are discounted as having the forces necessary to produce bodily injury.

The continue by stating, “Whiplash-associated disorders (WADs) are typical road traffic crash-related pain disorders, butfibromyalgia, with its more widespread pain, can also be triggered by injuries sustained in a vehicle crash, albeit less commonly” [pg. 1111] This is again evidence that fibromyalgia can be traumatically induced following a motor vehicle accident.

A proper and thorough initial evaluation is critical since the authors reported, “Prior research has identified the sub-acute and early chronic phases as critical periods for interventions to prevent the development of prolonged pain conditions” [pg. 1115] Accident victims need to be evaluated as soon as possible.

Among the factors involved in long term pain syndromes the authors stated, “Pre-injury health conditions, chronic illness and chronic pain were all identified as influencing the severity of pain during the 24 months following injury. For instance, a prior pain condition could increase theprobability for developing a pain condition again if exposed to acute pain” [pg. 1117] This also means that a proper history including past injuries is a critical part of evaluation and the healthcare providers that are seeing accident victims must have the training and awareness that past conditions can influence a trauma victim’s ability to fully recover.

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Reference:

1) 1. Gopinath, B., Jagnoor, J., Nicholas, M., Blyth, F., Harris, I. A., Casey, P., & Cameron, I. D. (2015). Presence and predictors of persistent

pain among persons who sustained an injury in a road traffic crash. European Journal of Pain, 19(8), 1111-1118