Customer Reviews

Whiplash Injuries: The Cervical Acceleration/Deceleration Syndrome

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Croft and Foreman are to be greatly commended on this work, the BEST in the field of whiplash traumatology. Apparently, there will be a 3rd edition coming soon.

The nonsense coming from Canada this year, including the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Cassidy study (April 2000) and anything that Robert Ferrari has written, and is likely to write (Whiplash "Encyclopedia"), is an utter shame. The author of the recent NEJM study (Cassidy) has been accused of falsifying data (Emma Bartfay, PhD vs. Cassidy), and the views of QTF and Ferrari on chronic whiplash have been refuted over and over again.

Research in this field is of two types, with one out-weighing the other exponentially: insurance company-sponsored stuff such as Cassidy's, the "Quebec Task Force" or "QTF" study(1995), and much of the Ferrari literature IS VASTLY OUTWEIGHED by the other 95% of the university-based and engineering research that refutes it.

This book, especially in its new edition (pending), is and will be the definitive treatise on whiplash-related injuries. It is not written for the layperson, and covers complex medical topics. However, for physicians and health care professionals working with the whiplash-injured, it is indispensable.

When all the hubbub surrounding the latest weak studies from Canada subsides, Foreman and Croft's work will still be standing tall and unscathed. And that is because these two authors understand the difference between a strong study and a weak one. It is NOT true that you can use the research to prove anything. For example, the April 2000 NEJM study by Cassidy et al. states that when you remove the tort system, whiplash-injured persons miraculously heal faster. But upon closer inspection, it turns out that the authors of this study equate "recovery" with "return to work". They did not report on the physical exam findings of their research subjects at the time of claim closure (so-called "recovery"), so we do NOT really have an honest study.

With Ferrari, he is just so out in left field that one cannot imagine how he survives. The only answer must be that insurance company money is paying for his "research". Is it? Ferrari has been refuted over and over again by Croft and Michael Freeman, DC, PhD, MPH in the literature (see SPINE 1998 and 1999). Ferrari is actually on record as saying that chronic whiplash pain is from a psychological disturbance.

The 1995 QTF study is on record as saying that pain "is not harmful". These are doctors?

Of course, if you have had a brain injury and have been diagnosed with MTBI (mild traumatic brain injury), which is often permanent, there is psychological disturbance. But this is not what Ferrari argues. He basically believes that the millions and millions of chronic whiplash sufferers world-wide are all faking it.

Nikolai Bogduk, one of the top, if not the top, researchers in the world in the study of pain, has conclusively proved that whiplash injuries, even at VERY LOW SPEEDS (less than 5 mph) do damage the cervical zygapophyseal (facet capsules) or "z" joints of the neck, and that those injured in this way have chronic pain, and often full (actually too much) range of motion in their necks. The recent excellent crash tests by Ono, Kanno, Siegmund, Brault, Croft himself, and many, many others all confirm Bogduk's findings in a very conclusive way.

The fact that "researchers" like Cassidy, Ferrari, Russell, and now the NEJM never cite these authors, who are the most respected in the field, is certainly suspect.

I look forward to the next edition of this book, which should address all of the misinformation being propagated by the insurance industry and its representatives (do they fear an even larger class-action suit than big tobacco? You betcha!). Then we can all know the real science, well-written and more thoroughly referenced than any book on whiplash to date.

It is not often that you find authors who have so thoroughtly referenced a subject. It is written with a good command of the English language and is carefulle reasoned.

This book should finally lay to rest the myth that whiplash is somehow "not real", a notion that the insurance industry is most likely propagating.

This gem of a book is a must for all clinicians involved in the care and treatment of whiplash and its related disorders. It is also essential reading for all those insurance industry claims reps who are truly concerned about their insured injured persons, and not just their jobs!

I laughed after reading A. Bartsch's comment. He believes this book has "severe deficits" because it does not have a "well respected and well published co-author in the medical (M.D.) or engineering arena (PhD)". Requiring an MD or PhD to co-author would indicate that Dr. Croft, because he is a chiropractic doctor, would need an MD or PhD to qualify his work. I have recently attended Dr. Croft's whiplash modules and met MDs that were also in attendance. They were quite vocal in praising Dr. Croft for his research and knowledge in the area of low speed collision and crash biomechanics. In my opinion, Dr. Croft's education and experience far exceeds that of most MD and PhDs in this field. In court, a healthcare practitioner can comment on mechanisms of injury, treatment methods, and prognosis. A PhD can comment on the crash mechanics, but cannot comment on the possibility of injury. Dr. Croft's training in diagnosis and treatment as well as his training in accident reconstruction and biomechanics provide a complete perspective. He has published hundreds of research papers and performed live crash testing. If I were injured in a car accident, I would want Dr. Croft diagnosing, treating, and guiding me through my recovery. Its this comprehensive education, research, and experience, that makes Dr. Croft's book a must read for healthcare practitioners.

By questioning the lack of MD/Phd as a co-author, and the fact that this book is written by a chiropractor, Bartsch actually brings into question his own motives in writing such a comment. I believe Bartsch's opinion would be "more robust" if he actually received advanced training in medicine or chiropractic. Then his qualifications would match Dr. Croft's.

The book is well written and provides and in depth look at the diagnosis and treatment of Whiplash (neck injuries). A must read for all health care providers that are serious about treating these injures. May be interesting for some motivated readers not in the health care field.

A Tour de Force! Is there going to be a Third Edition? Let us hope so, given Arthur Croft's ability to consume, digest and make palatable to us the most recent research on the topic of whiplash. Fortunately, Dr. Croft is still writing (see his articles in SPINE with co-author Dr. Michael Freeman), and still at the forefront of the profession. As a chiropractic physician, his contributions are all the more important in the medical world, which often borrows from alternative health without crediting it. Not so with Croft, who is credited in medical circles worldwide. A thoroughly readable, well-referenced and enjoyable textbook which will open your mind to a syndrome (group of injuries, really) so misunderstood.

Any physician without this text on his/her shelves should not be treating persons injured by whiplash.

If you are a physician who treats whiplash patients, or an attorney trying to understand the hows and whys, this book is the absolute BEST there is. 'Nuff Said.

This book has some very harsh opinion sections regarding work of prior authors regarding 'whiplash' injury. Additionally, the first person tense is used in many of the chapters. These two factors leads one to question whether this is a scientifically sound publication, or the authors' opinion piece on 'whiplash'.

The lack of a well respected and well published co-author in the medical (M.D.) or engineering arena (PhD) also lends to some severe deficits. An engineer learns the fundamentals of engineering from engineering professors. A medical doctor learns the fundamentals of medicine from medical doctors. Since this book lacks either of these resources, an introductory section on biomechanics, written by a Doctor of Chiropractic, does not seem nearly as robust as it should, and it severely lacks technical competency. Many of the sections on medical diagnosis and treatment, including conclusions raised regarding cervical soft collars, would also be at odds with existing clinical knowledge of injury mechanisms and best treatment methods.

The authors repeatedly bring up examples of their own work and how it has been cited minimally or not cited at all in the greater scientific literature. There is probably a very good reason for this; attacking other authors' work repeatedly and systematically without acknowledging many of the positives in this other work causes many readers to discount the conclusions reached in this book. This is also likely the reason why this book, being six years old, appears to never have been taken off the shelves of the local major medical center library.

A better suggestion would be to review a collection of books, including this one and perhaps Dr. Narayan Yoganandan's 'Whiplash' book from 2000 or Nahum's 'Accidental Injury' from 2002, and let the reader draw their own conclusions of the scientific validity contained therein.