Allen M E, Weir-Jones I, Motiuk D R, Flewin K R, Goring R D, Kobetitch R, Broadhurst A
Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia.
Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1994 Jun 1;19(11):1285-90. doi: 10.1097/00007632-199405310-00017.
This study measured repeated human head accelerations (g) during daily activities.
Perturbations of daily living were compared to similar data from low velocity rear-end motor vehicle accidents.
Past assumptions suggest that motor vehicle accident severity does not correlate with the degree of sustained injury. Early engineering studies indicated that occupant disturbance in a low velocity motor vehicle accident is minor.
Eight volunteers were perturbed with 13 daily activities. Helmets on the heads of volunteers were instrumented with tri-planar accelerometers with output sampling of 500 Hz, sensitivity of 0.02 g, and a range of +/- 20 g.
There was wide inter-subject response for various perturbations. Plopping backward into a chair caused maximum peak acceleration horizontally at 5.6 g and vertically at 8.5 g, with force vector of 10.1 g at 54.9 degrees. Mean impulse duration was 0.19 sec. There was no hint of injury in any subject.
Perturbations of daily living compared similarly to the jostling expected in low velocity "whiplash"-type motor vehicle accidents.
