Neck sprain after motor vehicle accidents in drivers and passengers

Neck sprain is a general term denoting a soft tissue injury of the neck, wh ich seldom causes major disability but is considered a modem epidemic. The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of sprain of t he neck injury due to motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) in both drivers and pa ssengers. Ln addition, the degree of seat belt wearing in both driver and p assenger was analysed. A second aim was to identify groups at risk by analy sing the age and gender distribution of patients with neck sprain. The resu lts of this population-based study revealed a sharp increase in neck sprain from 1989 through 1995, whereas a more or less stable pattern was found fo r seat belt use. The sharp increase was found to be attributable to outpati ents. Finally, we found a driver predominance as well as a female predomina nce; groups at risk were the 20- to 24-year-olds for drivers and 15- to 19- year-olds for passengers.