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Here's a common scenario that occurs during an auto accident. You're stopped at a traffic light when suddenly you feel
the impact of a car striking you from behind. It doesn’t have to be much. Low speed, but enough that you have to get
out and take a look at the damage. When you get to the back of your car, you notice nothing is dinged or dented on your car.
Not even a scratch. The other driver shrugs and smiles apologetically and you both drive happily away.
But the next morning you find you can hardly get out of bed. Your neck feels like you slept funny and you're walking around with
a stiff neck the entire day – feeling like you overstrained yourself playing golf.
What
is happening here? After all, both cars were driving at such low speeds (5 miles per hour) that it seems unlikely that anything
could have occurred.
Surprise! You just suffered whiplash! That's right, a study that examined the effectiveness of a new sensor that measures ligament length during motion
testing shows just exactly how this happens. Understanding this might shed light on why low-impact accident victims can suffer
serious pain and injury.
These
findings indicate that relatively minor collisions may result in excessive loading to the spinal ligaments. A collision of
just 6 mph can result in G forces of 6.5 - plenty enough to cause ligament stretching during whiplash movement in the seat
of your car.
Cholewicki J, Panjabi MM,
Nibu K, Macius ME. Spinal ligament transducer based on a hall effect sensor. Journal of Biomechanics 1997;30(3):291-293.
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