| he type of work you do affect the prospects of | | | | The research also examined the employment status |
| your recovery from a whiplash injury? A study | | | | of each case: 93 were self-employed and they were |
| carried out by the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery | | | | half as likely as to take time off work as employees. |
| would seem to indicate that the answer is a 'yes'. | | | | However, this category took an average of 153 days |
| In 2001 they carried out a study, evaluating the | | | | to recover, compared to the average of 30 days |
| progress and recovery rates of 586 patients in some | | | | achieved by those in conventional employment. |
| form of employment. Of those 586, 40 did not | | | | Whiplash injuries cost the UK 0.4% of its Gross |
| return to work. This risk was tripled in heavy manual | | | | National Profit. This percentage includes the cost of |
| workers, increased by two and a half times in | | | | legal proceedings and compensation for loss of |
| patients with previous psychological symptoms and | | | | earnings. Personal injury law firms are demanding that |
| doubled according to the range of disabilities that | | | | more research is conducted into the factors that |
| were taken into consideration. The study also found | | | | affect an individual's ability to return to work after |
| that the self-employed were half as likely to take | | | | incurring a whiplash injury. |
| time off, compared to employees, but took much | | | | In these investigations other factors were taken into |
| longer to recover. | | | | account, including age, psychological history, social |
| The study focused specifically on the consequences | | | | class, direction of impact, neurological symptoms and |
| of whiplash alone: any patients who received further | | | | disability. Social class and the direction of impact had |
| injuries were excluded from the research. Of the 586 | | | | little or no effect on the findings unearthed. Of the |
| interviewed, at the time of the study 546 resumed | | | | 40 who did not return to work, 10 had a history of a |
| their work and 40 had not, although it was noted | | | | previous psychological illness or anxiety, compared |
| that it took women a little longer to return to work | | | | with only 11% of those who did return to |
| than men. | | | | employment. Similarly, of the 40 who did not return |
| The type of work seemed to have an effect on | | | | to work, 60% suffered from neurological symptoms |
| whether or not an individual went back to work | | | | compared with 27.5% of those who did. |
| quickly - or at all. Over 13% of those in jobs that | | | | Ultimately, a whiplash injury of any sort can cause |
| entailed heavy manual work did not return to work, | | | | inconvenience socially, as well as incurring a loss of |
| compared with just over 9% of those whose work | | | | earnings. However it seems that there are sections |
| involved only light manual work. Those most likely to | | | | of society that are more likely to suffer greater |
| return to work were clerical workers - just fewer | | | | inconvenience than others as the result of various |
| than 5% of them did not return to work at all. | | | | factors, including the nature of their employment. |