Whiplash injuries – are they caused by startle reflexes?

Whiplash injuries most commonly result from seemingly minor low-speed rear-end collisions. The reason for the injury is not known but it is generally thought that the sudden acceleration of the body relative to the head damages the joints and muscles of the neck, which can lead to long-lasting pain.

Jean-Sébastien Blouin and colleagues at The University of British Columbia, collaborating with MEA Forensic Engineers & Scientists, exposed subjects to rear-end collisions that were sometimes accompanied by loud sounds. They showed that a significant component of the muscle reaction in a first collision – like the unexpected one on the roads – arises through being startled by the abrupt motion and loud sound of the impact. This new finding promises a new understanding of the causes of this common injury, leading to new ways of prevention and management.

Media Contact

Melanie Thomson alfa

All latest news from the category: Health and Medicine

This subject area encompasses research and studies in the field of human medicine.

Among the wide-ranging list of topics covered here are anesthesiology, anatomy, surgery, human genetics, hygiene and environmental medicine, internal medicine, neurology, pharmacology, physiology, urology and dental medicine.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors