The objective of this study was to use whole body tests determine how torso mass is recruited during an inverted drop test, identify injuries caused at a impact velocity of 4.4 m/s, and to better understand vertebral kinematics during axial compression of the cervical spine. Five post-mortem human surrogates (PMHS) were suspended upside-down in a standard seating position, and were then dropped. The subjects were dropped on a padded five-axis load plate in order to determine the force experienced following initial contact. Subjects were dropped with a combination of impact velocities at levels of 2 m/s and 4.4 m/s. Each PMHS was instrumented with three blocks mounted along the thoracic spine and two blocks on the head. Every block contained three mutually orthogonal accelerometers and angular rate sensors. High-speed X- ray videos were captured to visualize the kinematics of the vertebrae. The force from the load cell followed the same characteristic double peak shape as seen in other studies. Typically, the first peak is assumed to be associated with the mass of the head acting on the load cell and the second peak is thought to be the effect of the torso mass. However, acceleration timing of the T1, T4 and T8 blocks suggest that part of the torso mass acts on load cell within the first peak of the loading. Most injuries from an inverted impact occurred between in the region of the lower cervical spine and the upper thoracic spine due to flexion of the cervical spine following initial impact. Kinematics data suggest the curvature of the spine before and during loading have a large influence on the likelihood and type of injury.