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A cervical fracture, commonly called a broken neck, is a fracture of any of the seven cervical vertebrae in the neck. Examples of common causes in humans are traffic collisions and diving into shallow water.
A flexion teardrop fracture is a fracture of the anteroinferior aspect of a cervical vertebral body due to flexion of the spine along with vertical axial compression. [1] The fracture continues sagittally through the vertebral body, and is associated with deformity of the body and subluxation or dislocation of the facet joints at the injured level. [2]
Clay-shoveler's fracture is a stable fracture through the spinous process of a vertebra occurring at any of the lower cervical or upper thoracic vertebrae, classically at C6 or C7. [1] In Australia in the 1930s, men digging deep ditches tossed clay 10 to 15 feet above their heads using long handled shovels. [ 2 ]
Erb's palsy is a paralysis of the arm caused by injury to the upper group of the arm's main nerves, specifically the severing of the upper trunk C5–C6 nerves. These form part of the brachial plexus, comprising the ventral rami of spinal nerves C5–C8 and thoracic nerve T1.
Additional symptoms of cervical injuries include low heart rate, low blood pressure, problems regulating body temperature, and breathing dysfunction. [46] If the injury is high enough in the neck to impair the muscles involved in breathing, the person may not be able to breathe without the help of an endotracheal tube and mechanical ventilator.
Postoperative radiation is delivered within 2–3 weeks of surgical decompression. Emergency radiation therapy (usually 20 grays in 5 fractions, 30 grays in 10 fractions or 8 grays in 1 fraction) is the mainstay of treatment for malignant spinal cord compression. It is very effective as pain control and local disease control.
Central cord syndrome (CCS) is the most common form of cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). It is characterized by loss of power and sensation in arms and hands. It usually results from trauma which causes damage to the neck, leading to major injury to the central corticospinal tract of the spinal cord. [1]
A flexion-distraction fracture of T10 and fracture of T9 due to a seatbelt during an MVC. On plain X-ray, a Chance fracture may be suspected if two spinous processes are excessively far apart. [10] A CT scan of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis is recommended as part of the diagnostic work-up to detect any potential abdominal injuries.