Quantifying the Effect of Pelvis Fracture on Lumbar Spine Compression
during High-rate Vertical Loading 2021-22-0008
Fracture to the lumbo-pelvis region is prevalent in warfighters seated in
military vehicles exposed to under-body blast (UBB). Previous high-rate vertical
loading experimentation using whole body post-mortem human surrogates (PMHS)
indicated that pelvis fracture tends to occur earlier in events and under higher
magnitude seat input conditions compared to lumbar spine fracture. The current
study hypothesizes that fracture of the pelvis under high-rate vertical loading
reduces load transfer to the lumbar spine, thus reducing the potential for spine
fracture. PMHS lumbo-pelvis components (L4-pelvis) were tested under high-rate
vertical loading and force and acceleration metrics were measured both
inferior-to and superior-to the specimen. The ratio of inferior-to-superior
responses was significantly reduced by unstable pelvis fracture for all metrics
and a trend of reduced ratio was observed with increased pelvis AIS severity.
This study has established that pelvis fracture reduces compression forces at
the lumbar spine during high-rate vertical loading, thus reducing the potential
for fracture to the lumbar spine. Therefore, pelvis injury potential should be
considered when implementing lumbar injury criteria specific to UBB.
Author(s):
David R. Barnes, Narayan Yoganandan, Jason Moore, John Humm, Frank Pintar, Kathryn L. Loftis
Affiliated:
SURVICE Engineering Co., Belcamp, MD, USA, The Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA, U.S. Army DEVCOM DAC, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, USA
Pages: 28
Event:
65th Stapp Car Crash Conference
Related Topics:
Torso
Military vehicles and equipment
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