title: Return to play after cervical spine injury in sports.
abstract: Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) resulting from sports now represent 8.9% of the total causes of SCI. Regardless of cause, there are bound to be return-to-play decisions to be made for athletes. Since catastrophic cervical spine injuries are among the most devastating injuries in all of sports, returning from a cervical spine injury is one of the most difficult decisions in sports medicine. Axial loading is the primary mechanism for catastrophic cervical spine injuries. Axial loading occurs as a result of intentional or unintentional head-down contact and spearing. Most would agree that the athlete returning to a contact or collision sport after a cervical spine injury must be asymptomatic, have full strength, and have full active range of motion; however, each situation is unique. The following review discusses the pathophysiology of these conditions and suggests guidelines for return to contact sports after traumatic cervical SCI.
authors: Departments of Neurosurgery and Sports Medicine, Emerson Hospital, Concord, MA 01742, USA. rcantu@emersonhosp.org
authors: Robert C
authors: RC
authors: Cantu
authors: Yan Michael
authors: YM
authors: Li
authors: Mohamed
authors: M
authors: Abdulhamid
authors: Lawrence S
authors: LS
authors: Chin
mesh_terms: D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D020127:Recovery of Function; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome