Advances in Engineering Advances in Engineering features breaking research judged by Advances in Engineering advisory team to be of key importance in the Engineering field. Papers are selected from over 10,000 published each week from most peer reviewed journals.
Journal of Biomechanics, Volume 46, Issue 5, 15 March 2013, Pages 925-930.
Raphaël Portero, Franck Quaine, Violaine Cahouet, Philippe Thoumie, Pierre Portero
GIPSA Lab, UMR CNRS 5216, Département d’Automatique, Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France
Service de Rééducation Neuro-Orthopédique, Hôpital Rothschild (AP-HP), Paris, France
Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France
EAC CNRS 4396, Université Paris-Est Créteil Val de Marne, Créteil, France
Abstract
Despite the multi-linked architecture of the cervical spine, all previous studies that have made estimations of mechanical properties of the neck have considered the head–neck segment as a rigid link, with a fixed center of rotation at C7. The aim of this study was to consider the head–neck segment as a changeable geometry system for locating the resultant center of rotation and for calculating the musculo-tendinous stiffness by the quick-release method. Head kinematics during quick-releases was analyzed by recording the trajectory of surface markers. With an optimization procedure, the position of the resultant center of rotation of the head–neck segment was estimated. Thereafter, the angular displacement and acceleration of the head, together with the isometric torque developed by the cervical muscles were used to calculate the segment’s stiffness. The results showed a consistent center of rotation and a significant increase of the musculo-tendinous stiffness with increasing torque.
