The ability of neck muscles to react in time to mitigate whiplash injury in unaware occupants remains unclear. A validated head-neck computer model was implemented to determine the effect of reflexive contraction on capsular ligament elongations in whiplash. Contraction parameters were chosen for the maximum kinematic effect. Contraction decreased segmental angulations less than 10% during the retraction phase and decreased capsular ligament elongations in the middle while slightly increasing elongations at the inferior and superior ends of the cervical spine. Due to inherent reflexive contraction delays, it remains unlikely that reflexive contraction can significantly affect the whiplash injury mechanism. For the covering abstract see ITRD E141807.
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