Effect of rear impact on the instrumented cervical spine: a finite element study

Under rear-impact loading, PCLF reduced spinal cord stress and strain relative to ACDF but increased hardware stresses, whereas LP preserved motion at the cost of higher facet capsular ligament strain. These findings suggest that PCLF may be preferred when minimizing spinal cord loading is a priority, while LP may be selected when motion preservation is critical, with awareness of construct-specific trade-offs in ligament and implant loading.