A biomechanical study of neck strength and impact dynamics on head and neck injury parameters

TL;DR

This study uses a musculoskeletal model to analyze how impact location, velocity, and neck strength influence head and neck injury severity, revealing impact location as a key factor in injury risk.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the effects of impact location, velocity, and neck strength on injury parameters, informing prevention strategies and biomechanical understanding.

Findings

Anterolateral impact is most risky for head and neck injuries.

Impact location significantly affects injury parameters, more than neck strength.

Higher impact velocities increase injury severity indicators.

Abstract

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are considered a silent epidemic. It affects many people, from automobiles to sports to service members. In this study, we employed a musculoskeletal head-neck model to understand the effect of impact locations, characteristics, and neck strength on head and neck injury severity. Three types of impact forces were studied: low-velocity impact (LVI), intermediate-velocity impact (IVI), and high-velocity impact (HVI). We investigated six parameters: linear and rotational accelerations, the Generalized Acceleration Model For Brain Injury Threshold (GAMBIT), neck force, neck moment, and Neck Injury Criteria (NIC). We consider seven impact locations, three neck strengths, and three impact characteristics. We studied a total of 63 cases. It was found that the linear accelerations do not change much with different neck strengths and impact locations. The impact locations have a significant effect on head and neck injury parameters, and anterolateral impact is the most risky impact location for both head and neck. The maximum average rotational acceleration is for anterolateral eccentric impact which is 4.75 times more than the average anterior central impact. The lateral impacts generate about 10% more linear accelerations than anterior and posterior impacts. Neck forces do not vary more than 20% with impact locations and neck strength. The average head and neck injury parameters do not vary more than 10% based on neck strength. Impact characteristics have a significant role in GAMBIT and NIC. The average GAMBIT for IVI and HVI were 1.44 and 1.54 times higher than LVI. In summary, the anterolateral eccentric impact has a higher probability of head and neck injury than the other six impact locations. These findings provide objective evidence that can inform injury prevention strategies as well as aid tissue and cellular level studies.