Contrary to what insurance companies like us to believe, connective tissue injuries can be quite painful and long-lasting. Stephen M. Foreman and Arthur C. Croft in Whiplash Injuries, The Cervical Acceleration/Deceleration Syndrome, clearly state (on page 360):

Outcome/prognostic studies suggest that from 12 to 100% of whiplash victims will continue to be symptomatic long after the injury (see the later section on outcome in this chapter). Most of the authors of the studies mentioned in that section followed patients for 6 months to as long as 2 years. Clinical experience teaches us that patients who remain symptomatic at 1-year followup are not likely to recover fully. Review of the many studies in this category reveal that, in general, rear impact injuries carry a worse prognosis than do side or frontal impact injuries.