Whiplash injury research at Chalmers – a review including the latest developments in the EU-ADSEAT project

Magazine article, 2011

Whiplash injuries, is a worldwide problem. They are frequent and costly since they often lead to long lasting pain and disability. Women are twice as vulnerable as men. These injuries are caused by inertial neck loading and occur in all collision directions. The symptoms are similar regardless of collision type and include pain, weakness or abnormal responses in the neck region, thus associated with nerve paths involving the cervical nerve-roots. The whiplash research focus at Chalmers originates from a hypothesis regarding pressure transients causing load to the nerve root ganglia. The pressure transients have been verified and ganglion nerve cell dysfunction has been found. Our current research utilises recent imaging techniques to understand the difference in injury thresholds between women and men. A new female rear impact dummy model is also developed.