Effect of rear end low-speed collisions on the meniscus

Low-speed, rear end motor vehicle collisions may cause small but significant medial meniscal tears that have been previously unexplained in published literature. The medial meniscus can be torn when a compressive load is applied to the leg in the flexed position and is then twisted. Rear end collisions occurring at low speeds may produce loading patterns to the legs of the occupants that are capable of tearing ligaments within the knee, especially the medial meniscus. There is limited previous work on this topic and current research only supplies a small amount of data on the properties and characteristics of the knee during a compressive and twisting load. This study uses a three dimensional knee model to simulate loads to a flexed knee in the finite element software FEBio. The results of these simulations show that the inner edge of the posterior horn of the meniscus may be susceptible to injury and that both large compressive loads and applied torque increase the stresses and strains.