Helmet Fit and Cervical Spine Motion in Collegiate Men's Lacrosse Athletes Secured to a Spine Board

Abstract Context: Proper management of cervical spine injuries in men's lacrosse players depends in part upon the ability of the helmet to immobilize the head. Objective: To determine if properly and improperly fitted lacrosse helmets provide adequate stabilization of the head in the spine-boarded athlete. Design: Crossover study. Setting: Sports medicine research laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: Eighteen healthy collegiate men's lacrosse players. Intervention(s): Participants were asked to move their heads through 3 planes of motion after being secured to a spine board under 3 helmet conditions. Main Outcome Measure(s): Change in range of motion in the cervical spine was calculated for the sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes for both head-to-thorax and helmet-to-thorax range of motion in all 3 helmet conditions (properly fitted, improperly fitted, and no helmet). Results: Head-to-thorax range of motion with the properly fitted and improperly fitted helmets was greater than in the no-helmet condition (P < .0001). In the sagittal plane, range of motion was greater with the improperly fitted helmet than with the properly fitted helmet. No difference was observed in helmet-to-thorax range of motion between properly and improperly fitted helmet conditions. Head-to-thorax range of motion was greater than helmet-to-thorax range of motion in all 3 planes (P < .0001). Conclusions: Cervical spine motion was minimized the most in the no-helmet condition, indicating that in lacrosse players, unlike football players, the helmet may need to be removed before stabilization.

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Lower Cervical Posterior Element Fractures in the National Football League: A Report of 2 Cases and a Review of the Literature

Neurosurgery ◽

10.1227/neu.0b013e31821815af ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 68 (6) ◽

pp. E1743-E1749 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Mark C. Drakos ◽

Brian T. Feeley ◽

Ronnie Barnes ◽

Mark Muller ◽

T. Pepper Burruss ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cervical Spine ◽

National Football League ◽

Clinical Presentation ◽

Axial Loading ◽

Football Players ◽

Unstable Fracture ◽

Professional Football ◽

Cervical Spine Injuries ◽

Spine Injuries ◽

Posterior Element

Abstract BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE: Injuries in professional football players are common because of the nature of the collisions and the frequency of axial loading to the cervical spine. These injuries should be thoroughly evaluated because they can put the player at risk of future injury and even paralysis. The focus of this report is to present 2 cases of this injury and review the current body of literature. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: We present 2 cases of professional football players who experienced injuries to the lower posterior elements of their cervical spine simultaneously on a kickoff during a game. Both players described transient symptoms consistent with a “stinger,” which is commonly encountered. Workup revealed fractures of the lower cervical spine in both patients. One patient was able to be managed conservatively and returned to football the following season. The second patient had an unstable fracture that ultimately required operative intervention, and the patient retired from professional football. CONCLUSION: Cervical spine injuries in football players need to be adequately evaluated, and in many cases can be career threatening. We recommend that players with persistent pain after a transient neurapraxia undergo radiography and computed tomography of the cervical spine to evaluate for a fracture.

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Catastrophic Cervical Spine Injuries in High School and College Football Players

Yearbook of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1016/s0162-0908(08)70037-0 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 2007 ◽

pp. 32-33

Author(s):

D.E. Feldman

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Cervical Spine ◽

College Football ◽

Football Players ◽

Cervical Spine Injuries ◽

Spine Injuries

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Cervical Spine Injuries in Football Players

Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons ◽

10.5435/00124635-199909000-00006 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 7 (5) ◽

pp. 338-347 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Bruce E. Thomas ◽

Geoffrey M. McCullen ◽

Hansen A. Yuan

Keyword(s):

Cervical Spine ◽

Football Players ◽

Cervical Spine Injuries ◽

Spine Injuries

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Neck Braces and Driving Posture Affect Neck Mobility on Powered Two-Wheelers

PROMET - Traffic&Transportation ◽

10.7307/ptt.v33i3.3687 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 337-345

Author(s):

Brieg Lecoublet ◽

Yvan Petit ◽

Eric Wagnac ◽

Dominic Boisclair ◽

Pierre-Jean Arnoux

Keyword(s):

Cervical Spine ◽

Range Of Motion ◽

Degrees Of Freedom ◽

Traffic Accidents ◽

Axial Rotation ◽

Cervical Spine Injuries ◽

Flexion Extension ◽

Spine Injuries ◽

Driving Posture ◽

Neck Mobility

Cervical spine injuries are a major concern for motorcyclists in traffic accidents and racing competitions. Neck braces aim to prevent cervical spine injuries during accidents by reducing the neck range of motion, and keeping it under physiological limits. This work aims to evaluate the ability of neck braces to reduce neck mobility for two driving postures associated with PTW configurations. The neck mobility of twelve volunteer subjects testing four neck braces on two powered two-wheelers (scooter and racing motorbike) is measured using an optoelectronic motion capture system. With the tested neck braces worn, neck mobility is significantly reduced as compared to the physiological range of motion in all degrees of freedom. However, only flexion/extension is reduced by all neck braces tested. This suggests that these brace designs do not provide protection against all the cervical spine loading directions that may occur in a trauma. Furthermore, specific type of each powered two-wheeler considered significantly affects the neck mobility in axial rotation, as well as the postero-anterior and caudo-cranial translations, thus underscoring the need to consider the driving posture when evaluating neck brace devices.

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Helmet and Shoulder Pad Removal in Football Players with Unstable Cervical Spine Injuries

Journal of Applied Biomechanics ◽

10.1123/jab.25.2.119 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 119-132 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Michael C. Dahl ◽

Dheera Ananthakrishnan ◽

Gregg Nicandri ◽

Jens R. Chapman ◽

Randal P. Ching

Keyword(s):

Cervical Spine ◽

Team Sports ◽

The United States ◽

Football Players ◽

Patient Handling ◽

Lateral Direction ◽

Cervical Spine Injuries ◽

Spine Injuries ◽

Unstable Cervical Spine ◽

The Right

Football, one of the country’s most popular team sports, is associated with the largest overall number of sports-related, catastrophic, cervical spine injuries in the United States (Mueller, 2007). Patient handling can be hindered by the protective sports equipment worn by the athlete. Improper stabilization of these patients can exacerbate neurologic injury. Because of the lack of consensus on the best method for equipment removal, a study was performed comparing three techniques: full body levitation, upper torso tilt, and log roll. These techniques were performed on an intact and lesioned cervical spine cadaveric model simulating conditions in the emergency department. The levitation technique was found to produce motion in the anterior and right lateral directions. The tilt technique resulted in motions in the posterior left lateral directions, and the log roll technique generated motions in the right lateral direction and had the largest amount of increased instability when comparing the intact and lesioned specimen. These findings suggest that each method of equipment removal displays unique weaknesses that the practitioner should take into account, possibly on a patient-by-patient basis.

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