Rear End Collision & Lower Back Pain

Neck pain and injury, or whiplash, is a common result of rear-end vehicular collisions. Many people, however, do not realize that this type of collision also can cause lower back pain. Because the pain often does not appear for some time afterward, people usually do not associate the appearance of low back pain with the vehicle accident.

Occurrence

• Three studies cited by the Bay Area Lawyers Network of California website found low back pain occurrence in 34 to 42 percent of people with whiplash from rear-end collisions.

Symptom Delay

• Delay in symptoms is common in a connective tissue injury, as indicated by several studies, including a Canadian study published in the journal Spine in 1995.

Time Frame

• Michels Spinal Rehab in Salem, Oregon, sees patients who experience neck pain and headaches immediately following a rear end collision but do not experience lower back pain until many months later.

Specifics

• The Michels center cites a study indicating that 85 percent of patients reporting whiplash after a rear-end collision also developed low back pain over the next 4 to 12 months.

Later Health Issues

• A 2001 study published in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology found that rear-end collisions that caused whiplash also were associated with future health complaints, including middle and low back pain, headaches, fatigue and sleep disorders.