title: Catastrophic spine injuries in sports.
abstract: Catastrophic spine injuries in sports are rare but tragic events. The sports with the highest risk of catastrophic spinal injuries are football, ice hockey, wrestling, diving, skiing and snowboarding, rugby, cheerleading, and baseball. A common mechanism of injury for all at-risk sports is an axial compression force to the top of the head with the neck slightly flexed. We review common mechanisms of injury and prevention strategies for spine injuries in the at-risk sports.
authors.affiliation: The Orthopaedic Center, #201, 9711 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA.
authors.forename: Barry P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Boden
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Prior
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001484:Baseball / Q000293:injuries; D002388:Catastrophic Illness; D015984:Causality; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries; D004242:Diving / Q000293:injuries; D005260:Female; D005538:Football / Q000293:injuries; D006688:Hockey / Q000293:injuries; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D015995:Prevalence; D011481:Protective Clothing; D012307:Risk Factors; D012865:Skiing / Q000293:injuries; D013124:Spinal Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019876:Sports Equipment; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014952:Wrestling / Q000293:injuries