Broken Neck Injury Explained
A broken neck is an extremely serious injury, which is fortunately extremely rare in soccer. Motor racing, Skiing and Snowboarding are some sports that may hold a high risk of such as traumatic injury. There can be catastrophic consequences of a broken neck, because spinal cord damage can cause quadriplegia or death. The neck or ‘cervical spine’ consists of seven vertebrae in the neck, any one of which can become broken. In football (soccer), the injury usually occurs by the player being struck on the head whilst heading the ball. The force from the blow to the head is transmitted to the neck, where it can be resolved as a fracture.
In other sports, such as ice hockey, gymnastics, American Football and rugby union, the injury can occur more frequently, although it is thankfully still rare. In rugby it is usually a consequence of a collapse in the scrum, affecting the players in the front row. In American Football it can occur due to head trauma from opponent contact and the weight of the helmet can contribute to a broken neck. In ice hockey checking an opponent from the rear is the most common cause of a broken neck.
Depending on the direction of neck movement during injury the fracture may be due to over-flexion, over-extension, excessive rotation or compression. The fracture can occur at any of the seven vertebrae in the neck, with varying consequences. Generally speaking the prognosis is worse if the fracture is higher up the cervical spine, where the fracture can be fatal or result in paraplegia. Because of these serious possible consequences, first aid treatment should be attempted only by qualified medical personnel.
