|
Head and neck injuries in sports
Neck Injuries: Urgent Decisions and Actions
John Wiesenfarth, MD, MS; William Briner, Jr, MD
Emergencies Series
Editor: Warren B. Howe, MD
THE PHYSICIAN AND SPORTSMEDICINE - VOL 24 - NO. 1 - JANUARY 96
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Of the 6,000 to 10,000 spinal cord injuries reported each year, motor vehicle accidents account for 35% to 45%, and falls for 25% to 30% (1). Most of the rest are related to sports, especially football, rugby, ice hockey, soccer, diving, gymnastics, and wrestling (2-4). Nevertheless, catastrophic neck injuries are infrequent in sports, with a prevalence of less than 2/100,000 neck injuries (3). One sport has especially reduced the incidence: Fewer than 10 football players each year have sustained permanent injury to the cervical spinal cord since 1977 (5)."
_____________________
No mention of baseball in the listing of sports in which spinal injuries occur annually.
|