Loud preimpact tones reduce the cervical multifidus muscle response during rear-end collisions: a potential method for reducing whiplash injuries

Mang, Daniel W. H.; Siegmund, Gunter P.; Brown, Harrison J.; Goonetilleke, Samanthi C.; Blouin, Jean‐Sébastien

doi:10.1016/j.spinee.2014.08.002

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“… 25 Due to these postural changes resulting from a Directional warning, the EMG (Post-Imp-Max) was the lowest compared to the Startle and Non-Directional trials, while the T (Post-Imp-Max) was similar to the other warned trials. These results indicate that for low-level loads, postural changes may be beneficial as they reduce the risk of muscular strain injury as well as injuries to other cervical soft tissues 34 that result from head dynamics. Future studies should investigate the tradeoff between the kinematic response and muscle activation level to find an optimum response that mitigates injuries to all structures in the neck.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Cervical Muscle Activation Due to an Applied Force in Response to Different Types of Acoustic Warnings

2021

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Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and whiplash-associated disorder are the most common head and neck injuries and result from a sudden head or body acceleration. The head and neck injury potential is correlated with the awareness, level of muscle activation, and posture changes at the time of the perturbation. Environmental acoustic stimuli or a warning system can influence muscle activation and posture during a head perturbation. In this study, different acoustic stimuli, including Non-Directional, Directional, and Startle, were provided 1000 ms before a head impact, and the amplitude and timing of cervical muscle electromyographic (EMG) data were characterized based on the type of warning. The startle warning resulted in 49% faster and 80% greater EMG amplitude compared to the Directional and Non-Directional warnings after warning and before the impact. The post-impact peak EMG amplitudes in Unwarned trials were lower by 18 and 21% in the retraction and rebound muscle groups, respectively, compared to any of the warned conditions. When there was no warning before the impact, the retraction and rebound muscle groups also reached their maximum activation 38 and 54 ms sooner, respectively, compared to the warned trials. Based on these results, the intensity and complexity of information that a warning sound carries change the muscle response before and after a head impact and has implications for injury potential.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Cervical Muscle Activation Due to an Applied Force in Response to Different Types of Acoustic Warnings

2021

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“…The cervical muscle response during a collision might be triggered by various stimuli, such as the loud noise, the impact-induced vehicle motion, vibration, and whole-body motion [26]. The vestibular (vestibulocollic) reflex [12, 27–29], the startle reflex [12, 25, 30–32], postural responses mediated by more distal mechanoreceptors [12], as well as stretch reflexes of neck muscles (cervicocollic reflex) [12, 26, 28] might all play a role in the muscular responses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neck muscle responses of driver and front seat passenger during frontal-oblique collisions

et al. 2018

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BackgroundLow-velocity motor vehicle crashes often lead to severe and chronic neck disorders also referred to as whiplash-associated disorders (WAD). The etiology of WAD is still not fully understood. Many studies using a real or simulated collision scenario have focused on rear-end collisions, whereas the kinematics and muscular responses during frontal-oblique collisions have hardly been investigated. In particular for rear-end collisions, drivers were shown to have a higher WAD risk than front seat passengers. Yet, independently from the impact direction, neither the muscular nor the kinematic responses of drivers and front seat passengers have been compared to date, although some findings indicate that the neck muscles have the potential to alter the head and neck kinematics, and that the level of neck muscle activity during impact may be relevant for the emergence of WAD.ObjectiveIn this study, we quantitatively examined the subjects’ neck muscle activity during low-velocity left-frontal-oblique impacts to gain further insights into the neuromuscular mechanism underlying whiplash-like perturbations that may lead to WAD.MethodsIn a within-subject study design, we varied several impact parameters to investigate their effect on neck muscle response amplitude and delay. Fifty-two subjects experienced at least ten collisions while controlling for the following parameters: change in velocity Δv (3 / 6 km/h), seating position (driver / front seat passenger), and deliberate pre-tension of the musculature (tense / relaxed) to account for a potential difference between an expected and an unexpected crash. Ten of the 52 subjects additionally ran the same experimental conditions as above, but without wearing a safety belt.FindingsThere were significant main effects of Δv and muscle pre-tension on the reflex amplitude but not of seating position. As for the reflex delay, there was a significant main effect of muscle pre-tension, but neither of Δv nor of seating position. Moreover, neither the safety belt nor its asymmetrical orientation had an influence on the reflexive responses of the occupants.ConclusionIn summary, we did not find any significant differences in the reflex amplitude and delay of the neck musculature between drivers and front seat passengers. We therefore concluded that an increased risk of the driver sustaining WAD in frontal-oblique collisions, if it exists, cannot be due to differences in the reflexive responses.

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“…In that context, early detection of the whiplash patients at risk of developing WAD is important because it would allow not only designing better preventive treatment for high-risk individual ( 21 ) but also paving the way for prevention [see, for instance, Ref. ( 22 )]. It remains that the great heterogeneity of the clinical investigations in these patients has resulted in disparate if not contradictory results on that matter.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Attempt of Early Detection of Poor Outcome after Whiplash

et al. 2016

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The main concern with whiplash is that a large proportion of whiplash patients experience disabling symptoms or whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) for months if not years following the accident. Therefore, identifying early prognostic factors of WAD development is important as WAD have widespread clinical and economic consequences. In order to tackle that question, our study was specifically aimed at combining several methods of investigation in the same WAD patients at the acute stage and 6 months later. Our longitudinal, open, prospective, multi-center study included 38 whiplash patients, and 13 healthy volunteers matched for age, gender, and socio-economic status with the whiplash group. Whiplash patients were evaluated 15-21 days after road accident, and 6 months later. At each appointment, patients underwent a neuropsychological evaluation, a full clinical neurological examination, neurophysiological and postural tests, oto-neurological tests, cervical spine cord magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with tractography (DTI). At 6 months, whiplash patients were categorized into two subgroups based on the results of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as having either favorable or unfavorable progression [an unfavorable classification corresponding to the presence of post-concussion symptom (PCS)] and we searched retrospectively for early prognostic factors of WAD predicting the passage to chronicity. We found that patients displaying high level of catastrophizing at the acute stage and/or post-traumatic stress disorder associated with either abnormalities in head or trunk kinematics, abnormal test of the otolithic function and at the Equitest or a combination of these syndromes, turned to

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Loud preimpact tones reduce the cervical multifidus muscle response during rear-end collisions: a potential method for reducing whiplash injuries

Cited by 16 publications

References 30 publications

Cervical Muscle Activation Due to an Applied Force in Response to Different Types of Acoustic Warnings

Cervical Muscle Activation Due to an Applied Force in Response to Different Types of Acoustic Warnings

Neck muscle responses of driver and front seat passenger during frontal-oblique collisions

An Attempt of Early Detection of Poor Outcome after Whiplash

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