Medieval whiplash? A case study

Many people believe that so‐called whiplash injury or disease is something new, a highly disputed mixture of muscular pain and nervous symptoms in the head, neck and upper limbs caused by vehicular accidents. However, the term ‘whiplash’ is only a description of the mechanism—the quick extensive mov...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of osteoarchaeology 2007-07, Vol.17 (4), p.429-433
Main Author: Holck, P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case studies
cervical anomaly
Fractures
medieval
Middle Ages
Neck
neck fracture
os odontoideum
whiplash disorder
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Description
Summary:Many people believe that so‐called whiplash injury or disease is something new, a highly disputed mixture of muscular pain and nervous symptoms in the head, neck and upper limbs caused by vehicular accidents. However, the term ‘whiplash’ is only a description of the mechanism—the quick extensive movement of the head caused by the acceleration of the body—for example, by a rear‐end car crash. Of course, there are many possible ways to achieve the same injury in the ligaments of the neck: for example, by falling from a horse or being knocked out in a fight. A male skeleton from the Middle Ages displays typical changes which lead us to believe that the person may have suffered from severe neck trauma years before his death. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:1047-482X
1099-1212
DOI:10.1002/oa.894