HYPERACTIVE VOR AND HYPERVENTILATION AFTER WHIPLASH INJURY

Otoneurological and respiratory tests were performed on 32 patients af ter whiplash injury caused by a rear-end car collision. Oculomotor and cervico-ocular test results were generally normal. In a significantly large number of cases, the vestibule-ocular reflex (VOR) was hyperact ive (n = 17; 53%) and the respiratory test results were typical of the hyperventilation syndrome (HVS) (n = 12; 35%). Hyperactive VOR and th e HVS occurred significantly more often in combination (n = 7; 22%) th an could be accounted for by combined false positivity. Most of the si gnificant findings were due to high relative frequencies in the women. The hyperactive VOR might have been the result of plastic adaptation to limited head mobility secondary to neck pain. Behavioural and emoti onal distress might offer alternative explanations for both the hypera ctive VOR and HVS.