Management guidelines for participation in collision activities with congenital,developmental,or post-injury lesions involving the cervical spine

Abstract

Conditions involving the cervical spine in the athlete requiring management decisions are numerous. The purpose of this paper is to present appropriate guidelines for return to collision activities in those with congenital, developmental, or post-injury lesions. Collision activities include boxing, football, ice hockey, lacrosse, rugby and wrestling. Information compiled from over 1200 cervical spine lesions documented by the National Football Head and Neck Injury Registry, an extensive literature review, as well as an understanding of injury mechanisms have resulted in reasonable management guidelines. Each of the congenital, developmental and post-traumatic conditions presented are identified as either no contraindication, relative contraindication, or an absolute contraindication on the basis of a variety of parameters. Conditions involved in the discussion include: odontoid anomalies, spina bifida occulta, atlanto-occipital fusion, K1ippel-Feil syndrome, cervical canal stenosis, spear tackler's spine; and traumatic conditions of the upper, middle and lower cervical spine including ligamentous injuries and fractures, intervertebral disc injuries and post-cervical spine fusion. It should be emphasized that the proposed guidelines should be used in the decision making process and in conjunction with other such factors as age, experience, ability of the individual, level of participation, position played, as well as the attitude and desires of the athlete and his parents, where applicable following an informed discussion of the problem with particular regard to potential risk.