Axial head rotation increases facet joint capsular ligament strains in automotive rear impact. Med Biol Eng Comput 2011 Feb;49(2):153-61
Date
09/30/2010Pubmed ID
20878550DOI
10.1007/s11517-010-0682-2Scopus ID
2-s2.0-79952585181 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 10 CitationsAbstract
Axial head rotation prior to low speed automotive rear impacts has been clinically identified to increase morbidity and symptom duration. The present study was conducted to determine the effect of axial head rotation on facet joint capsule strains during simulated rear impacts. The study was conducted using a validated intact head to first thoracic vertebra (T1) computational model. Parametric analysis was used to assess effects of increasing axial head rotation between 0 and 60° and increasing impact severity between 8 and 24 km/h on facet joint capsule strains. Rear impacts were simulated by horizontally accelerating the T1 vertebra. Characteristics of the acceleration pulse were based on the horizontal T1 acceleration pulse from a series of simulated rear impact experiments using full-body post mortem human subjects. Joint capsule strain magnitudes were greatest in ipsilateral facet joints for all simulations incorporating axial head rotation (i.e., head rotation to the left caused higher ligament strain at the left facet joint capsule). Strain magnitudes increased by 47-196% in simulations with 60° head rotation compared to forward facing simulations. These findings indicate that axial head rotation prior to rear impact increases the risk of facet joint injury.
Author List
Storvik SG, Stemper BDAuthor
Brian Stemper PhD Professor in the Biomedical Engineering department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Accidents, TrafficAxis, Cervical Vertebra
Computer Simulation
Humans
Joint Capsule
Ligaments, Articular
Models, Biological
Torsion Abnormality
Whiplash Injuries
Zygapophyseal Joint
