The authors report the case of a 24-year-old man who presented with sudden onset quadriplegia while doing a bench press in the supine position. He had a history of cervical disc herniation at the C6/7 level. Plain x-rays showed no spinal fracture and no spinal canal stenosis. MRI revealed a C6/7 disc herniation that severely compressed the spinal cord. Physical exam showed complete spinal cord ...

BACKGROUND Paralysis of the upper limbs from spinal cord injury results in an enormous loss of independence in an individual's daily life. Meaningful improvement in hand function is rare after 1 year of tetraparesis. Therapeutic developments that result in even modest gains in hand volitional function will significantly affect the quality of life for patients afflicted with high cervical injury...

All patients were acute, multi-segment cervical spinal cord compression injury secondary to subaxial cervical spine fracture. These patients underwent emergency posterior cervical pedicle screw-rod/plate instrumentation combined with unilateral open-door laminoplasty. Well-placed pedicle screws and good cervical canal dilation were achieved in all patients, as assessed by radiography. Patients ...

BACKGROUND This study examined the relationship between four radiological parameters (Pavlov's ratio, sagittal diameter, spinal cord area, and spinal canal area) in patients with a traumatic cervical spine injury, as well as the correlation between these parameters and the neurological outcome. METHODS A total of 212 cervical spinal levels in 53 patients with a distractive-extension injury we...

Injury to the cervical cord is common but may be overlooked The first important requirement in managing any patient with an injury to the cervical spine is to make the diagnosis: failure to do this in a patient with traumatic spinal instability may lead to increased neurological deficit. In one large series of such injuries the diagnosis was missed in the accident and emergency department in on...

Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is the most common cause of spinal cord dysfunction in older individuals. It results when spondylotic changes lead to cervical cord injury with resulting clinical deficits. Diagnosis is made based on clinical and radiographic features. A patient must have both symptoms and signs consistent with cervical cord injury as well as radiographic evidence of spondy...

BACKGROUND Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) may increase the risk of spinal cord injury (SCI) with various neurological deficits after minor trauma. However, few studies have investigated the influence of OPLL on neurological outcome after acute cord injury. We examined whether severe spinal canal stenosis caused by OPLL affects neurological outcome after SCI based on ...

STUDY DESIGN Prospective observational study. PURPOSE To assess the clinical outcome after early versus late decompression for traumatic cervical cord injury. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE Traumatic spinal cord injury is common globally with the most tragic outcomes in the cervical spine. Although recent studies have shown that early decompression results in more favourable outcome, its authority ...

There are many causes of paraspinal muscle weakness which give rise to the dropped-head syndrome. In the upper cervical spine the central portion of the spinal cord innervates the cervical paraspinal muscles. Dropped-head syndrome resulting from injury to the central spinal cord at this level has not previously been described. We report two patients who were treated acutely for this condition. ...

Objective: To evaluate the clinical evidence and determine recommendations regarding theoptimal timing of decompression surgery following acute cervical spinal cord injury. Methods:A MEDLINE search of the English literature was performed using the search terms spinal cordinjury, SCI, quadriplegia and paraplegia, which were paired with the terms surgery,decompression, and tim...