A viscoelastic model of the human spine subjected to +g(z) accelerations.

A viscoelastic rod model which includes damping has been used to simulate the spinal column mathematically. This one-dimensional rod was subjected to a ramp input acceleration and the theoretical acceleration at the end of the rod was compared to the experimental head acceleration data from previously conducted cadaver t&s. The agreement between the experimental and theoretical results is better than for the elastic rod model previously published, but indicates further nonlinear considerations are still needed.