Traffic accident statistics as well as figures from insurance companies indicate an increasing importance of cervical spine injuries. Despite this fact, biomechanical and clinical assessment of these injuries is often comprimised by a confusion between the actul findings of the medical examination on one hand and the mechanisms leading to these injuries. The still widespread, yet misleading, usage of the term "whiplash" is a classical example of thereof. A subdivision of the criteria in terms of "accident severity" into four classes, for example dynamic loading of the car, biomechanical loading of the occupant, clinically diagnosable injuries, and subjective sequelae for the victims is proposed. victims is proposed. The cervical spine injury mechanisms known to date are presented. The role of shear forces in the upper cervical articulations as a possible cause for neck injuries in car impacts is discussed as well as its complications on the design of better car seats, for example with automatically positioned head restraints.
Abstract