Every day, through the media, we see news about car accidents. We can say that the most common damage a person suffers from a car accident is directly linked to the cervical spine and neck. Such injuries are caused by the relative movement of the head in relation to the chest during accidents.
When we are inside a moving car, our body is at the same speed as it. When we brake hard or when the vehicle collides with another object and stops, our body tends to maintain the state of movement. The result is that we are projected forward.
This can be seen when we are on a bus and it stops: the tendency is to keep moving forward. In the case of the car, if we are not wearing the seatbelt, we will continue to move while the car stops: in this way, we will bump into the car's dashboard or we will be thrown out.
The seat belt is intended to prevent this relative displacement, as it acts on the chest and waist, keeping us tied to the seat.
In collisions from behind, the vehicle accelerates forward and the seat acts on the back, propelling the occupant forward. The acceleration of the head, however, is made by forces transmitted by the neck and backrest. When the backrest is poorly designed, the force on the neck can be too great, causing damage to the cervical spine and the tissues of the neck.
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Those who drive with their head far away from the backrest are more likely to suffer spinal damage in the event of an accident.
body damage
In car accidents, there are usually three types of trauma:
- penetration trauma:occurs when sharp or sharp objects penetrate the body;
- impact trauma:damages organs and tissues when part of the body collides with other objects, suffering localized forces;
- acceleration/deceleration trauma:damages internal organs by accelerations different from the accelerations of body parts.
In order to lessen spinal damage, cars should have headrests on all seats. These supports must have a minimum height, reaching at least three inches below the top of the head. Also, they shouldn't be more than four inches apart.
By Domitiano Marques
Graduated in Physics
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SILVA, Domitiano Correa Marques da. "Inertia and injuries in accidents"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/fisica/inercia-lesoes-acidentes.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
