Acute and Emergent Spinal Injury Assessment and Treatment

Ron Courson; Barry P Boden; Jim Ellis; Glenn Henry; Robb Rehberg

doi:10.1016/j.csm.2023.02.011

Acute and Emergent Spinal Injury Assessment and Treatment

Clin Sports Med. 2023 Jul;42(3):491-514. doi: 10.1016/j.csm.2023.02.011.

Authors

Ron Courson¹, Barry P Boden², Jim Ellis³, Glenn Henry⁴, Robb Rehberg⁵

Affiliations

¹ Sports Medicine, University of Georgia, 1 Selig Circle, Butts-Mehre Hall, Athens, GA 30603, USA. Electronic address: rcourson@sports.uga.edu.
² The Orthopaedic Center, a Division of Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics, 14995 Shady Grove Road, Suite 350, Rockville, MD 20815, USA.
³ United States Football League, Birmingham, AL, USA; National Football League, 345 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10154, USA.
⁴ Sports Medicine, University of Georgia, 1 Selig Circle, Butts-Mehre Hall, Athens, GA 30603, USA.
⁵ National Football League, 345 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10154, USA; William Paterson University, 300 Pompton Road, Wayne, NJ 07470, USA.

PMID: 37208061
DOI: 10.1016/j.csm.2023.02.011

Abstract

Sports participation is a leading cause of catastrophic cervical spine injury (CSI) in the United States. Appropriate prehospital care for athletes with suspected CSIs should be available at all levels of sport. Planning the process of transport for home venues before the start of the season and ensuring that a medical time out occurs at home and away games can reduce complications of transport decisions on the field of play and expedite transport of the spine-injured athlete.

Keywords: Cervical spine injury; Emergency action plan; Spinal cord injury; Spinal motion restriction.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Athletic Injuries* / diagnosis
Athletic Injuries* / therapy
Cervical Vertebrae / injuries
Humans
Physical Examination
Spinal Injuries* / diagnosis
Spinal Injuries* / therapy
Transportation of Patients
United States / epidemiology