Site, type, and local mechanism of tibial shaft fracture in drivers in frontal automobile crashes

Ivarsson, B. Johan; Manaswi, Abhijit; Genovese, Daniel; Crandall, Jeff R.; Hurwitz, Shepard R.; Burke, Christine; Fakhry, Samir

Affiliations

¹University of Virginia, Center for Applied Biomechanics, 1011 Linden Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22902, USA

²University of Virginia, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Virginia, 400 Ray C. Hunt Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA

³University of Virginia, Orthopaedic Surgery Foot and Ankle Division, 400 Ray C. Hunt Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA

⁴Inova Fairfax Hospital, Trauma Services, 3300 Gallows Road, Falls Church, VA 22042, USA

Abstract and keywords

The location, type, and local mechanism of tibial shaft fracture were determined for 66 drivers injured in frontal automobile crashes. The results from the analyses showed that the distal third is the most common fracture location (p < 0.05) and that bending is responsible for the majority of these fractures regardless of the fracture site. These findings indicate that the current injury criterion for predicting the occurrence of tibial shaft fracture in crash tests with anthropometric test devices is appropriate in terms of accounting for the primary mechanism of fracture but that increased protective effectiveness could be achieved by redefining the criterion for the distal third shaft section instead of the currently specified mid-shaft section of the tibia.

Keywords: Tibia; Shaft fracture; Tibia Index; Frontal crash

Links

DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2007.06.019

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Cited By (9)

Year	Entry
2008	Untaroiu CD, Ivarsson J, Genovese DR, Bose D, Crandall JR. Biomechanical injury response of leg subjected to combined axial compressive and bending loading. Biomed Sci Instrum. 2008;44:141-146.
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2021	Harden AL, Kang Y-S, Hunter RL, Bendig A, Bolte JH IV, Eckstein NI, Smith AGF, Agnew AM. Preliminary sex-specific relationships between peak force and cortical bone morphometrics in human tibiae subjected to lateral loading. In: Proceedings of the 2021 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 8-10, 2021; Online.232-248.
2016	Chakravarty A, Martinez A, Quenneville CE. The effect of occupant posture on the risk of fracture in the human tibia under dynamic impact loading. In: Proceedings of the 12th Ohio State University Injury Biomechanics Symposium. June 5-7, 2016; Columbus, OH.
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2016	Chakravarty AB. The Effects of Off-Axis Loading on Fracture Risk in the Human Tibia [Master's thesis]. Hamilton, ON: McMaster University; September 2016.
2015	Ye X. Driver Lower Extremity Response and Injury With Knee Airbag Deployment [Master's thesis]. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia; August 2015.
2019	Yue N. A Numerical Investigation of Biomechanical Response and Injury of Occupant Lower Extremities in Automotive Frontal Impact Scenario [Master's thesis]. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia; December 2019.