The rate of change of acceleration: Implications to head kinematics during rear-end impacts

Head and neck control varies with perturbation acceleration but not jerk: implications for whiplash injuries

“…Since Vibert et al . (2001) did not vary jerk and Hynes & Dickey (2008) did not report neck muscle data, it remains unclear whether human neck muscles are graded to collision jerk.…”

“…Two recent studies have proposed that collision jerk, i.e. the time rate change of acceleration at the leading edge of the collision pulse, could be a factor in generating these different outcomes (Vibert et al 2001; Hynes & Dickey, 2008). The two studies, however, propose a different role for jerk in the generation of whiplash injuries, and thus the primary aim of the present study is to determine which of these jerk‐related mechanisms is relevant to whiplash injuries.…”

“…Hynes & Dickey (2008) used jerk levels similar to those of Vibert et al . (2001) and reported that forehead accelerations increased at higher jerk levels.…”

“…(2001) and reported that forehead accelerations increased at higher jerk levels. It is not clear whether Hynes & Dickey (2008) observed floppy responses, though higher head accelerations typically correspond to lower head rotations and suggest a stiffer response (Siegmund et al 2003 a ; Blouin et al . 2007).…”

“…2007). Based on their findings, Hynes & Dickey (2008) proposed that higher collision jerk levels increase whiplash injury risk, presumably via increased forces transmitted through the neck. Thus their proposal suggests a relatively straight‐forward biomechanical link between collision jerk and whiplash injury in some individuals.…”