Side effects of QTF

In 1995, Canadian insurers sponsored a study to assess the effects and severity of whiplash injuries in Canada.  The effort was called Quebec Taskforce on Whiplash Related Disorders (QTF), and was produced by a number of prominent researchers and authorities.  The study was later published by the prestigious journal, Spine.  These researchers were challenged to evaluate the relevant literature produced to date and produce a general assessment of the status and effects of whiplash.  The study, while initially generating a lot of buzz, has since been thoroughly discredited and is now regarded as deeply flawed and biased by many.  The reasons for this are many: When a study is sponsored by an insurer (an interested party= bias) the outcome is immediately suspect.  It was claimed that a large part of this bias manifested in the phase of the study where they excluded various studies, that in retrospect was counter the eventual final conclusions of QTF.  One of the conclusions was that most whiplash injuries heal within 6-12 weeks.  While that may be true for some, but certainly not all, it is also a handy argument ("I'm sorry Ma'am, research has proven that injuries such as yours heal within......, so we do not believe that you are actually hurt") for insurance companies both in court and when talking to injured insured parties, it is not true for a staggering number of real life whiplash victim. What's worse: For some people (and we seem them regularly in our offices, in Scandinavia I believe) are people who did not feel the effects of the injury immediately after, received no treatment and end up with headaches, numbness in the arms, memory and fatigue problems and dizziness years after.  X-rays may reveal loss of lordsis (normal neck curve) and extensive degenerative changes in the mid and/or lower neck, dating the injury back 5-15 years - right around the time of that accident where "nothing happened".
Thanks to extensive and relevant critique, QTF is no longer taken seriously by informed professionals, but could still be abused by unscrupulous parties elsewhere, say in Scandinavia, where the knowledge and experience about whiplash injuries is still in its infancy.

Work Disability after Whiplash.

Buitenhuis J, de Jong PJ, Jaspers JP, Groothoff JW. Work disability after whiplash: a prospective cohort study. Spine 2009 34(3):262-7.

A Dutch study done on the basis of 879 sent to people who had filed insurance claims following a car accident. Oftentimes, this scenario could spell trouble, as that there is amble opportunity for (deliberate or accidental) sampeling and statistical errors and other biases. This study appears to be without these flaws, however.
The purpose was to look at how neck pain after car accidents related to ability to work / disability over a period up to one year.
After 6 months, 51% remained symptomatic, and after 12 months 43.7% remained symptomatic. Of those 43.7%, about half (21.7%) still had persistent work disability (which in Holland most likely means total disability or off-work status).
The subjects were contacted at the 3, 6 and 12 months marks. Based on that information a statistically significant correlation was made between work disability and physical factors (including neck pain, stiffness, loss of motion, radiating pain in the arms, dizziness, headache intensity, and concentration problems.
Looking at the status at the 1 year mark, age and concentration problems proved to be good predictors for long term disabilty. No correlation was found between factors such as degree of manual labor (“blue/white collar” work), education level (as some insurance companies in some parts of the world sometimes like to imply).