5 of the Most Common Sports-Related Spine Injuries
The spinal cord is one of the most important parts of the human body, allowing for proper function of the organs and facilitating movement of other parts of the body via connection to the brain. A healthy spine is vital to an active lifestyle but, unfortunately, many active people, particularly those who participate in contact sports, experience spinal cord injuries. About 9% of all spinal cord injuries in the United States are sports-related, according to a 2008 study published in the scientific journal Neurologic Clinics. Football, hockey, wrestling, and snowboarding are among the sports with the highest risk of catastrophic spinal injuries.
Not all spinal cord injuries are equally debilitating, however. Depending on the type and severity of the injury, some athletes are able to return to play within days or weeks. Treatment options, meanwhile, can range from rest and medication to physical therapy and surgical procedures such as disc replacement, fusions, and anterior cervical discectomy.
Here are some of the most common sports-related spinal cord injuries and the suggested treatment methods.
Lumbar Disc Herniation
A disc herniation is a spinal cord injury in which the disc between two vertebrae is damaged, causing it to protrude into the spinal canal. This is among the most common types of spine injuries, particularly in the lumbar (lower part of the spine), for athletes. Because the lumbar controls and protects the lower half of the body, symptoms might include weakness in the legs or lower back pain. Lumbar disc herniation commonly occurs as a result of excessive strain on the lower back, usually from lifting heavy weights or lifting with poor form.
Football players are particularly prone to lumbar disc herniations, but these injuries occur more often in the weight room as opposed to on the field. Squats and deadlifts are among the weightlifting movements known to cause lumbar disc herniations, while on the field the injury can occur from significant rotational force applied in blocking and tackling maneuvers.
MRI is used to diagnose a lumbar disc herniation and early treatments include oral methylprednisolone, muscle relaxers, and transforaminal epidural steroid injections. If the player has significant motor loss or refractory pain, they may have to undergo a microscopic lumbar discectomy, which has a return-to-play recovery time of about three months.
Cervical Radiculopathy
A spinal cord injury associated with pain, tingling, and/or numbness in the upper back near the shoulders and neck, cervical radiculopathy occurs when nerve roots exiting the spinal cord are damaged. It's also known as a pinched nerve in the neck. People over 50 are more likely to experience this injury, although it's also common among athletes who participate in sports with repetitive movements, such as tennis, golf, and swimming.
Tests to determine cervical radiculopathy include musculoskeletal physical exams, X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs. It is generally an injury that doesn't require surgery and can instead be treated with medication, rehab, and epidural steroid injections.
Stingers
A stinger is one of the most common nerve-related spinal cord injuries in young athletes. Fortunately, it also often resolves relatively quickly without intervention. Also known as a burner, a stinger most commonly occurs in contact sports, specifically football or rugby, when the tackling player's shoulder is forced in the opposite direction of their head and neck. This shocks the brachial plexus, a nerve bundle running from the neck down the arm, causing a stinging, burning, or tingling feeling in the arm. Other symptoms include pain in the shoulder and neck, and an inability to move the affected arm.
Stingers are mild in terms of injury severity and the pain generally subsides within minutes. In some cases, however, it may take as much as six weeks for athletes to regain normal strength and sensation in their arm.
Lumbar Spine Fractures
Lumbar spine fractures are also relatively mild injuries that commonly occur in football. In many cases, players are able to finish the game or miss only one or two games before returning to play. There are two types of lumbar spine fractures—transverse process and vertebral compression. Transverse process fractures occur more regularly in the upper lumbar spine (L1-L3), while compression fractures are essentially bone bruises that don't affect the structural integrity of the spine. Athletes may notice a pop or crack when a compression fracture occurs.
Cervical Cord Neurapraxia
Cervical spine injuries, resulting from excessive force on the head, are the most common—and devastating—in contact sports like football. The cervical spine, composed of seven vertebrae in the neck, controls head movement and protects the spinal cord. However, neck pain is usually minimal, if present at all, when an individual suffers cervical cord neurapraxia. This transient concussive injury can result in loss of sensory and/or motor function in the arms and/or legs for up to two days. For this reason, the condition is also called transient quadriplegia.
Surgery usually isn't required, but it may be an option for repeat instances or for those with focal cervical lesions.