Whiplash injury is surrounded by controversy in both the medical and legal world. The debate on whether it is either a potentially serious medical condition or a social problem is ongoing. This paper briefly examines a selection of studies on low velocity whiplash injury (LVWI) and whiplash associated disorder (WAD) and touches upon the pathophysiological and epidemiological considerations, cultural and geographical differences and the effect of
Loss of motion following spine segment fusion results in increased strain in the adjacent motion segments. However, to date, studies on the biomechanics of the cervical spine have not assessed the role of coupled motions in the lumbar spine. Accordingly, we investigated the biomechanics of the cervical spine following cervical fusion and lumbar fusion during simulated whiplash using a whole-human finite element (FE) model to simulate coupled motions of the spine. A previously validated FE model of the human body in the driver-occupant position was used to investigate cervical hyperextension injury. The cervical spine was subjected to simulated whiplash exposure in accordance with Euro NCAP (the European New Car Assessment Programme) testing using the whole human FE model. The coupled motions between the cervical spine and lumbar spine were assessed by evaluating the biomechanical effects of simulated cervical fusion and lumbar fusion.Objectives
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