On the structural and material properties of mammalian skeletal muscle and its relevance to human cervical impact dynamics

The absence of data on the material properties of skeletal muscle has resulted in limitations in the utility of human surrogates in evaluating injury potential during head and neck impact. The purpose of this paper is two fold. First, a quasi-linear viscoelastic model is developed to describe and predict the passive structural response of the New Zealand White rabbit tibialis anterior muscle. Second, the constitutive properties of skeletal muscle and the effect of elongation rate on these properties are determined for both the passive and stimulated states of the muscle. A review of the literature, and recommendations for modeling the effects of skeletal muscle on cervical spine impact dynamics are discussed.