[The late whiplash syndrome; reality or fiction?]

To answer the question whether there are clinical arguments for organic lesions in patients with persistent complaints after whiplash-injuries, 200 patients referred for assessment by insurance companies and legal institutions, were investigated 2 years or more after the injury. There were 89 males and 111 females. Pain in neck, head and arms persisted in 195 patients. Dizziness persisted in 60 patients. Vestibular investigation revealed abnormalities in 48 of them and in 9 patients without dizziness. As these vestibular findings can not be understood from a neurological point of view, further research as to their significance is needed. Asthenopia was present in 3 cases and psychic disturbances in 27. Of 100 patients 87 regarded themselves as more or less severely invalidated. It is concluded that this investigation shows no evidence for organic lesions in these patients. This does not mean however that the complaints should be considered unjustified.