Whiplash injury: is there a role for electromyographic studies?
BACKGROUND
This retrospective study was undertaken to assess the value of carrying out baseline and follow-up electromyography (EMG) for patients with whiplash-associated disorders (WAD, grades I and II) after they had undergone rear-end car collisions, and to determine if there is any agreement with clinical and imaging (CT and MRI) findings.


METHODS
We carried out a retrospective review of 330 patients seeking compensation after rear-end car collisions. The treating physician referred all patients for EMG studies in the post-injury follow-up period and for additional CT scans and MRIs. All patients underwent physical and X-ray examination by the senior author (SD), and 75 patients with persistent radicular complaints were referred again for EMG studies. The results of the association between patient complaints, clinical examination, and EMG, CT and MRI studies are reported.


RESULTS
We sought but failed to find any correlations between 354 EMG results with those of 278 CT scans and 75 MRIs. Both subjective complaints and early vs late EMG abnormalities showed statistical agreement and persistency of findings only at disc level C7/D1.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data indicate that follow-up EMG studies for patients with WAD do not contribute any useful information for patient management.
Steinberg
Ely L
EL
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery B, Sourasky Medical Center, 6 Weizman Street, 64239, Tel Aviv, Israel. eli_st@netvision.net.il
Ovadia
Dror
D
Nissan
Moshe
M
Menahem
Aharon
A
Dekel
Samuel
S
D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D035881:Compensation and Redress; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009334:Neck Muscles / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000502:physiology; D014911:Whiplash Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology