The sport of football sends more athletes to emergency rooms for spinal cord injuries than any other sport. The sport is fast paced, with hard hits and rough tackling. The players intentionally slam into each other, the harder the better. These blows to the neck and back could result in spinal cord injury, even when all of the protective measures are in place. Tackling correctly and wearing protective pads will decrease the chance of injury, but they are not a guarantee. Spinal cord injuries often times cause permanent disability, or loss of movement below the site of injury
Anatomy of the Neck
The spine is made of up 24 bones, called vertebrae. The vertebrae are divided into 3 sections. The top section of vertebrae are called the cervical spine, which is the first 7 bones in your neck. The next group of vertebrae are call the thoracic spine, which are the next 12 bones that make up your spine. The last group of vertebrae are call the lumbar vertebrae, and there are 5 of these bones.
The spinal cord runs from the base of the brain, and travels down through the middle of the spine. The spinal cord is responsible for receiving messages from your brain, and sending the message to the rest of your body. For example, you tell your brain to move your arm, so it sends a message down your spinal cord to your arm, and your arm moves. The bones of the spine protect the spinal cord from injury. Any injury to the spine could cause a vertebrae to compress or sever the spinal cord, resulting in an interruption of signals traveling from the brain. This could be permanent or temporary, and should always be taken seriously.
Signs and Symptoms of Spinal Cord Injury
An injury to the spinal cord can be life-threatening, depending on the type of injury. After an injury, there may be complaints of pain in the back or neck, weakness or numbness in any part of the body, impaired breathing, loss of bladder control, or total inability to move. There are types of injury that can be temporary, but all injuries and pain in the spinal area should be treated as life threatening injuries until evaluated by a physician. Not all spinal cord injuries are obvious, so be sure to pay close attention to any complaints after a head or neck injury.
Football players are at risk for traumatic spinal cord injuries, caused by sudden traumatic blows to the spine. These hits can fracture, compress, crush, or dislocate your spinal cord. This injury could be sudden, or may gradually get worse as bleeding or swelling occurs around the spinal cord.
Decreasing Chances of Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries are the most commonly associated with football players, but there are a few simple measures that can reduce your risk of injury. Learning correct tackling techniques and wearing protective padding are the two most important factors to decrease chance of spinal cord injury, for yourself and others. The best and most effective tackle is to bring down a player without causing harm or injury. This should be taught by trained football coaches when a player first begins the sport. There is a correct technique for tackling in football that decreases the chance of injury. Hitting helmet-to-helmet is considered an illegal tackle, as it increases the risk of injury, or even death.
Football players do wear protective equipment over the body, but this is not a guarantee that injury will not occur. Helmets protect the head from injury, but they do not protect the neck. Any blow to the head puts pressure on the neck, which can cause compression on the spinal column, and potentially injure the spinal cord.
The National Football League (NFL) contains the most elite football players in the world. The NFL has previously fined players in the NFL for violent or illegal hit. There have been an increased number of injuries from these type of tackles, so the NFL has recently increased the penalty. Players may now be suspended for dangerous and flagrant hits, regardless of injury to other players.
The sport of football is a sport played by many athletes across the country, despite the risks associated with the sport. It is important to understand the anatomy of the neck, and the potential for injury to truly protect yourself. This will help with understanding the importance of tackling correctly, to protect yourself and those you are sharing the football field with.
NFL.com "Enforcment of Player'Safety Rules" (accessed 10-20-10)
medlineplus.com "Spinal Cord Injuries" (accessed 10-20-10)
Diane Middleton - I have been a registered nurse in the Emergency Department for the past 15 years. I love to write about my ER experiences, and use this ...
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