Biomechanical factors involved in cervical fractures trauma, injury mechanism, influence of musculature on injury and impact area

The trauma mechanisms that lead to a cervical fracture are complex and not well understood, since mechanisms of the same nature may culminate in different injury patterns. This study aimed to review the current literature about the biomechanical factors that contribute to cervical fractures trauma. The search was conducted in databases PubMed, LILACS, SciELO and Cochrane Library platforms. We used the descriptors "Biomechanical Phenomena", "Cervical Vertebrae" and "Fractures, Bone". Found 185 articles, of which 183 were from the Pubmed platform and two from Cochrane Library platforms, in the other search platforms studies were not found. The inclusion criteria were: studies published in the last 5 years that were fully available on the web. After using these filters, 16 studies were found, all from the Pubmed platform only. Exclusion of 11 studies. Selected 5 articles to compose the review sample. They were divided into 3 categories to be discussed more closely, namely: injury mechanism, musculature influence to the injury and impact site as fracture determinants. Cervical fractures traumas occurs through indirect mechanisms where the most common mechanisms are flexion, extension, compression and dissociation. Moreover, it is observed that the cervical muscles behave as a protective factor for cervical fractures trauma.