Acute cervical spine injury has been associated with sports such as football, gymnastics, rugby, ice hockey, and diving. Athletes with cervical disc injury may present with neck pain, radicular pain, quadriparesis, or quadriplegia secondary to myelopathy. This article intends to outline the etiopathology, evaluation, and treatment of cervical disc disease. Available guidelines for return to play following cervical disc injury are also presented.
Synonyms and related keywords: acute cervical spine injury, annular tear with herniation of the nucleus pulposus, annular tear without herniation of the nucleus pulposus, cervical degenerative disease
Robert E Windsor, MD

Madigan Army Medical Center Referral Guidelines Diagnosis/Definition Cervical pain that is muscular, discogenic, or arthritic in nature. Patient may be experiencing limited ROM of C-spine or have pain referred to the trapezius or upper extremity.

One of the most challenging roles of the team physician involves the intervention and decision-making processes regarding cervical spine (C-spine) injuries in contact sports. The team physician must be well versed in the prevention, evaluation, stabilization, and treatment of C-spine injuries. A high index of suspicion and an understanding of cervical alignment and architecture, as well as comprehension of the mechanics exerted during a sporting event, are imperative to diagnosing cervical injuries.
Synonyms and related keywords: C-spine injuries, back injury, sports-related spinal injury, sports-related spine injury, sports-related back injury, neck injury, sports-related neck injury
Andrew A Sama, MD, Federico P Girardi, MD, Frank P Cammisa, Jr, MD

The most frequent cervical injuries in athletes are probably acute strains and sprains of the musculature of the neck. Strain refers to an injury to a muscle, occurring when a muscle-tendon unit is stretched or overloaded. Cervical muscles that commonly are strained include the sternocleidomastoid (SCM), the trapezius, the rhomboids, the erector spinae, the scalenes, and the levator scapulae. Sprain refers to a ligamentous injury, and the diagnosis of cervical sprain implies that the ligamentous and capsular structures connecting the facet joints and vertebrae have been damaged.
Synonyms and related keywords: cervical strain, cervical sprain, musculotendinous injury, ligamentous injury, flexion-extension injury, deceleration injury, whiplash
Gerard A Malanga, MD

Recent Spinal Trauma was the subject of the 3rd Traumatology Seminar organized by the Pitié-Salpétrière Hospital in Paris. One of the presentations dealt with Lower Cervical Spine Sprains C. LAPORTE, G. SAILLANT
Sprains of the cervical spine are injuries that involve the intervertebral soft tissues (discs and ligaments). The incidence of these injuries is very high. The sprains are caused by craniocervical trauma in flexion, in extension, or in a pattern where flexion follows extension (whiplash injury). Depending on the severity of the ligamentous lesions, sprains may be classified as either benign or severe. Benign sprains are due to a stretching or minimal tearing of the ligaments; they do not cause instability at the affected level. Severe sprains, on the other hand, are due to ligamentous tears, which cause instability. The diagnosis is based upon radiographic criteria. The distinction between the two grades of sprain may be difficult