Motion Analysis of Cervical Vertebrae During Whiplash Loading

Abstract

The cervical spine is forced to move from the lower vertebrae during rear-end collisions. This motion completely differs from normal extension motion and is probably related to the injury mechanism.

The rapid and progressive degeneration of the cervical multifidus in whiplash: A MRI study of fatty infiltration

“…27 There are various mechanistic, but not necessarily mutually exclusive, processes that could underlie MFI, such as inflammation, denervation, disuse, altered activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), and stress system dysregulation. Injury to a number of anatomical structures (facet joints, discs, ligaments, vascular tissues, and dorsal root ganglia [28][29][30][31][32][33] ) could produce an inflammatory response, 34 which, similar to other chronic pain disorders, 35 could affect the functioning of the peripheral and central nervous systems 36 as well as the structure and strength of skeletal muscle. 37 While this study did not explore the role of inflammation on outcomes, a recent study investigating time-dependent changes in serum inflammatory biomarker levels in whiplash found a negative relationship between TNF-α and MFI at 3 months but no relationship with other markers (C-Reactive Protein, and IL-1β).…”

Injury of the anterior longitudinal ligament during whiplash simulation

“…Approximately 50% of whiplash patients have reported chronic neck pain 15 years after the trauma [3,41]. Various anatomical structures have been identified as potential injury sites, with many recent investigations focusing on the facet joint [1,7,19,21]. In vivo and in vitro studies have shown that the lower cervical spine hyperextends during the initial phase of whiplash [12,18].…”

A computational model of the human head and neck system for the analysis of whiplash motion

“…The heads inertia can lead to a situation of high shear in the top of the neck causing overstretching of the ligaments and joint capsules while non-physiological levels of extension in the lower neck can have potentially damaging effects on the anterior soft tissues. Many of the soft-tissue components of the neck have been identified as possible injury sites [9][10][11].…”