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Acute Fractures in Sport: Cervical Spine

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Fractures in Sport

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Abstract

Although rare, cervical spine fractures in athletes can have devastating consequences. Fractures of the cervical spine are separated into upper cervical spine fractures and subaxial cervical spine fractures. This chapter will discuss the epidemiology, classification, treatment, complications, rehabilitation, and preventative measures of upper cervical spine fractures, subaxial cervical spine fractures, and spinal cord injury.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Neurosurgery, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Andrew Platt & Arjang Ahmadpour

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL, USA

    Julian E. Bailes

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  1. Andrew Platt
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  2. Arjang Ahmadpour
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  3. Julian E. Bailes
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julian E. Bailes .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Edinburgh Orthopaedic Trauma Unit, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Greg A. J. Robertson

  2. Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK

    Nicola Maffulli

Review

Review

1.1 Questions

  1. 1.

    What are the differences between neurogenic and spinal shock in terms of treatment options and clinical implications?

  2. 2.

    If there is concern for a cervical spine injury, how should athletes with shoulder pads and helmets be secured prior to movement off the field of play?

1.2 Answers

  1. 1.

    Neurogenic shock is a type of shock that can occur in spinal cord injury causing bradycardia and hypotension secondary to loss of sympathetic tone to vasculature. It is important to identify neurogenic shock quickly and to treat with pressors, classically dopamine or norepinephrine. Spinal shock is distinct from neurogenic shock, and is defined as the temporary physiologic state of the acutely traumatized spinal cord, manifested by the transient absence of reflexive function distal to spinal cord injury.

  2. 2.

    If the athlete is wearing a facemask this should be disconnected from the helmet to allow access to the airway. A cervical collar can be placed or if obstructed from helmet or athletic gear foam blocks or sandbags can be placed on each side of the head with tape or elastic straps to then secure the head, blocks, and backboard in place.

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Platt, A., Ahmadpour, A., Bailes, J.E. (2021). Acute Fractures in Sport: Cervical Spine. In: Robertson, G.A.J., Maffulli, N. (eds) Fractures in Sport. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72036-0_17

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