Abstract
Whiplash Associated Disorder (WAD) in rear collision accident is difficult to recognize from X-ray images. However, recent clinical studies have mentioned that this injury occurs due to minor rupture in the cervical facet joint capsular ligament. In this study, porcine cervical facet joint capsular ligaments were subjected to quasi-static tensile loading to determine their strength at different loading rates and cervical segment location. Test specimens were obtained by dividing half-cut porcine cervical spine into five cervical segments (C2-C3 to C6-C7) and cutting off all of the soft connective tissues, except the facet joint capsular ligament. These specimens were fixed at both ends inside the cup-like jigs filled with polyurethane resin, and were then subject to tensile loading on the axial direction of the vertebrae at three different loading rates (50, 250 and 500 mm/min) using a universal testing machine. Influence of loading rate and cervical segment location on the strength and stiffness of the ligament were found to be insignificant. Furthermore, tensile strength and stiffness of the porcine cervical facet joint capsular ligament were considered to be similar to the cervical facet joint capsular ligament of human cadaver reported in other studies. It indicates that porcine cervical facet joint capsular ligament is suitable for replacing human cervical facet joint capsular ligament during mechanical testing.
