The cervical spine is the uppermost part of the spine which holds your skull in place and is responsible for neck and head movement.The cervical spine has 7 vertebrae usually known as C1-7,C8 is the base vertebrae and the start of the thoracic spine and is sometimes mentioned when describing the cervical spine.Damage to the cervical spine is most likely to occur in high impact collisions such as car accidents or physical contact sports.Injury to the cervical spine can have devastating results.
Lesion in the spinal chord can cause transverse myelopathy,which can result in total paralysis of the spine and it’s function below the lesion.Although such injuries in sport have become rare in the past decade or two due to protective equipment improving and the greater awareness of the risk damaging the cervical spine to the extent it damages the spinal chord in this region.In such cases where a heavy impact has occurred and the athlete is complaining of numbness,loss of feeling,immediate medical care must be sought and the situation be fully explained that this may be a cervical injury.
Any movement should be kept to a minimum to minimize the risk of a secondary injury caused by movement.In most cases of this type of injury protective equipment will be worn and warrants very careful removal and should be carried out by a medical team unless a deterioration of the athletes condition requires immediate removal.Less serious cervical injuries may involve weaker movement of the limbs,the limbs affected will be related to the c1-7 vertebrae which has been damaged.Fractures and herniated discs may causes similar symptoms.
Thankfully serious cervical injuries are rare however it is good to have the awareness of the potential damage which can be caused.It also highlights the the need to wear the correct protective equipment in contact sports such as rugby,American and Australian football and other contact sports.Martial arts moves can also place increased stress on the cervical vertebrae such as choke moves.It is common to see athletes involved in these sports to have very muscular necks to help absorb any impacts.The muscle helps protect the cervical spine from injury.In the case of martial arts a muscular neck and allow the ability to shrug off a choke move from a weaker opponent so giving them a competitive edge,the side effect of this is increased strength within the neck.
Bad posture can cause increased stress on the neck and the back,this is more likely to show as you age and the spine becomes less flexible.The spine is central to the body’s ability to move and it is worth taking the little time to correct in bad posture,indeed form is an important aspect of many athletes to obtain their optimal performances.This quick article was aimed at giving a little insight into how important your cervical spine is to your motor function and the possible results of serious trauma to this area.I look forward to the day there are zero cases of severe cervical injury in sport.
The video below shows a horrific cervical spine injury which Happened to Buffalos Bills Kevin Everett.
The link here shows us Kevin having pretty much fully recovered which is absolutely fantastic considering the severity of his injury.