This content is not included in
your SAE MOBILUS subscription, or you are not logged in.
Lumbar Spine Injuries in Rear Impacts of Different Severities
Technical Paper
2013-01-0221
ISSN: 0148-7191, e-ISSN: 2688-3627
Annotation ability available
Sector:
Language:
English
Abstract
Volunteer subject studies in low-speed rear impacts have shown that significant lumbar spine injuries are unlikely in such collisions. Anthropomorphic test devices (ATD) used in low to medium speed rear impact simulations have similarly revealed an unlikely mechanism to cause lumbar spine injuries. However, low back complaints after rear impacts are common in clinical practice. We attempt here to determine the incidence of lumbar spine injuries from actual field data which may provide an insight into the apparent paradox between experimental data and clinical practice.
We examined the incidence of all spine injuries in the NASSCDS (National Automotive Sampling System - Crashworthiness Data System) database from 1993 to 2009. We limited the data to only look at rear-end crashes involving two vehicles. We analyzed crash severity (delta-V), occupant injuries by AIS (Abbreviated Injury Scale) code, seat performance and restraint use in over 7,500 (with a weighted value of 2.5 million) passenger vehicle accidents. Of the 7,500 accidents, approximately 500 (weighted value of 225,000) passengers reported some type of lumbar spine injury. These injuries included strains or sprains to the spine (AIS 1 injuries), fractures and herniations (AIS 2). In particular, we stratify the incidence of lumbar spine injuries to low, medium and high speed rear impact crash severities, and correlate seatback deformation and restraint use to the lumbar injuries.
The analysis indicated the small number of reported lumbar injuries associated with rear end collisions were mostly musculoskeletal strains/sprains and a few fractures and herniations. Furthermore, there was no correlation of higher incidence of lumbar injury with increasing delta-V. The results of the analysis agreed with those from low-speed human subject tests and low- to moderate-speed ATD rear end simulations that concluded the lumbar spine is well protected by the seat back for properly seat-belted passengers.
Recommended Content
| Technical Paper | Lumbar Loads in Low to Moderate Speed Rear Impacts |
| Technical Paper | Vehicle Rear Impacts and Spinal Disc Herniations in Occupants: Is there a Basis for Causation? |
Authors
Citation
Yang, N., Lam, T., Dainty, D., and Lau, E., "Lumbar Spine Injuries in Rear Impacts of Different Severities," SAE Technical Paper 2013-01-0221, 2013, https://doi.org/10.4271/2013-01-0221.Also In
References
- Radanov , B.P. , Sturzenegger , M. and Di Stegano , G. Long-term outcome of whiplash injury. A 2-year follow-up considering features of injury mechanisms and somatic, radiologic and psychosocial findings Medicine 75 5 281 297 1995
- Berglund , A. , Alfredsson , L. , Jensen , I. , Cassidy , J.D. and Nygren , A. The association between exposure to a rear-end collision and future health complaints Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 54 851 856 2001
- Bartsch , A.J. , Morr , D.R. , Wiechel , J.F. and Ratliff , A.R. Real world minor crashes in the United States: a pilot study examining injury diagnoses Journal of Biomechanics 40 2 129 2007
- Roaf , R. A study of the mechanics of spinal injury Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery 42B 4 810 823 1960
- Adams , M.A. and Hutton , W.C. The mechanics of prolapsed intervertebral disc International Orthopaedics 6 4 249 53 1982
- Brinckmann P. Injury of the annulus fibrosus and disc protrusions: an in vitro investigation on human lumbar discs Spine 11 149 153 1986
- Adams , M.A. and Hutton , W.C. The effect of fatigue on the lumbar intervertebral disc Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery Br 65-B 2 199 203 1983
- Szabo , T. , Welcher , J. , Anderson , R. , Rice , M. et al. Human Occupant Kinematic Response to Low Speed Rear-End Impacts SAE Technical Paper 940532 1994 10.4271/940532
- McConnell , W. , Howard , R. , Guzman , H. , Bomar , J. et al. Analysis of Human Test Subject Kinematic Responses to Low Velocity Rear End Impacts SAE Technical Paper 930889 1993 10.4271/930889
- McConnell , W. , Howard , R. , Poppel , J. , Krause , R. et al. Human Head and Neck Kinematics After Low Velocity Rear-End Impacts - Understanding “Whiplash” SAE Technical Paper 952724 1995 10.4271/952724
- Mertz , H. and Patrick , L. Investigation of the Kinematics and Kinetics of Whiplash SAE Technical Paper 670919 1967 10.4271/670919
- Severy , D.M. , Mathewson , J.H. and Bechtol , C.O. Controlled automobile rear-end collisions, an investigation of related engineering and medical phenomena Canadian Services Medical Journal 10 727 759 1955
- Siegmund , G.P. , Brault , J.R. and Wheeler , J.B. The relationship between clinical and kinematic responses from human subject testing in rear-end automobile collisions Accident Analysis and Prevention 32 207 217 2000
- Moss , R. , Bardas , A. , Hughes , M. , and Happer , A. Injury Symptom Risk Curves for Occupants Involved in Rear End Low Speed Motor Vehicle Collisions SAE Technical Paper 2005-01-0296 2005 10.4271/2005-01-0296
- Szabo , T. and Welcher , J. Human Subject Kinematics and Electromyographic Activity During Low Speed Rear Impacts SAE Technical Paper 962432 1996 10.4271/962432
- Ono , K. , Inami , S. , Kaneoka , K. , Gotou , T. , Kisanuki , Y. , Sakuma , S. and Miki , K. Relationship between localized spine deformation and cervical vertebral motions for low speed rear impacts using human volunteers Proceeding of the 1999 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact 1999
- West , D.H. , Gough , J.P. , Harper , G.T.K. 1993 Low speed rear-end collision testing using human subjects Accident Reconstruction Journal 22 26 1993
- Siegmund , G.P. and Williamson , P.B. Speed change (ΔV) of amusement park bumper cars Proceedings of the Canadian Multidisciplinary Road Safety Conference VIII 1993
- Vijayakumar , V. , Scher , I. , Gloeckner , D. , Pierce , J. et al. Head Kinematics and Upper Neck Loading During Simulated Low-Speed Rear-End Collisions: A Comparison With Vigorous Activities of Daily Living SAE Technical Paper 2006-01-0247 2006 10.4271/2006-01-0247
- Viano , D.C. and Olsen , S. The effectiveness of active head restraints in preventing whiplash Journal of Trauma 51 959 969 2001
- Gates , D. , Bridges , A. , Welch , T. , Lam , T. et al. Lumbar Loads in Low to Moderate Speed Rear Impacts SAE Technical Paper 2010-01-0141 2010 10.4271/2010-01-0141
- Welch , T. , Bridges , A. , Gates , D. , Heller , M. et al. An Evaluation of the BioRID II and Hybrid III During Low- and Moderate-Speed Rear Impact SAE Int. J. Passeng. Cars - Mech. Syst. 3 1 704 733 2010 10.4271/2010-01-1031
- National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) Crashworthiness Data System Analytical User Manual 2009
- Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM) Abbreviated Injury Scale 2005
- Castro , W.H.M. , Schilgen , M. , Meyer , S. , Weber , M. , Peuker , C. and Wörtler , K. Do ‘whiplash injuries’ occur in low-speed rear impacts? European Spine Journal 6 366 375 1997
- Viano , D. , Parenteau , C. , Prasad , P. , and Burnett , R. Stiff versus Yielding Seats: Analysis of Matched Rear Impact Tests SAE Technical Paper 2007-01-0708 2007 10.4271/2007-01-0708
- Viano , D. and Parenteau , C. Serious Injury in Very-Low and Very-High Speed Rear Impacts SAE Technical Paper 2008-01-1485 2008 10.4271/2008-01-1485
- Galli , R. and Digges , K. Severe Head and Neck Injuries in NASS Rear Impacts SAE Technical Paper 2008-01-0190 2008 10.4271/2008-01-0190
- Warner , M. and Warner , C. Fatal and Severe Injuries in Rear Impact; Seat Stiffness in Recent Field Accident Data SAE Technical Paper 2008-01-0193 2008 10.4271/2008-01-0193
- Hildingsson , C. and Toolanen , G. Outcome after soft-tissue injury of cervical spine Acta Orthop Scand 61 4 357 359 1990
- Gay , J.R. and Abbott , K.H. Common whiplash injuries of the neck The Journal of the American Medical Association 152 18 1698 1704 1953
- Hohl , M. Soft-tissue injuries of the neck in automobile accidents The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery 56-A 8 1675 1682 1974
- Magnusson , T. Extracervical symptoms after whiplash trauma Cephalalgia 14 3 223 227 1995
- Boden , S.D. , Davis , D.O. , Dina , T.S. , Patronas , N.J. and Wiesel , S.W. Abnormal magnetic-resonance scans of the lumbar spine in asymptomatic subjects. A prospective investigation The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery 72 403 408 1990
- Jensen , M.C. , Brant-Zawadzki , M.N. , Obuchowski , N. , Modic , M.T. , Malkasian , D. and Ross , J.S. Magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine in people without back pain The New England Journal of Medicine 331 2 69 73 1994
- Patten , R.M. , Gunberg , S.R. and Brandenburger , D.K. Frequency and importance of transverse process fractures in the lumbar vertebrae at helical abdominal CT in patients with trauma Radiology 215 831 834 2000