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Spine Injury Presentation Draws Athletes' Attention
by Josh Coburn
Michelle Bruner, Wayne Morris, Sarah Brandenberger and John Burk
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The spine is the central nervous core of the human body. It's the CPU -- the central processing unit of the body. When something bad happens to it, it's not going to be the only thing affected. In the case of a 20-year-old MHC football player, something did happen.
Students, athletes, and faculty alike crowded into the MHC media center on April 9 to hear a SLAM presentation by the student athletic trainers on spinal injury.
Sarah Brandenberger, Michelle Bruner, John Burk, and Larry Wayne Morris explained every aspect of this case in much detail --who, what, when, where, and how everything came into play.
Some people who showed up for the presentation were victims and sufferers of back injuries themselves. They were looking for a little insight on what other injuries can be sustained, and to compare their own incident to that of the case study patient.
The athletic trainers showed the crowd detailed illustrations of the human back and nervous system, and actual radiology images from the case study patient.
The student athlete was a 6-foot 3-inch 285-pound offensive lineman for the Lions. One day they were performing a blocking drill in practice, and the player noted that he was feeling some pain and numbness in his arms. His legs were not affected. The symptoms occurred for only ten minutes.
He was pulled from practice, and the athletic trainers ran a series of motor sensory tests --for range of motion, reflexes, fractures and herniated disks.
During the blocking drill, the injured player's contact with the other player was relatively mild, but he had apparently hyper-extended his neck.
He was referred to a spinal specialist who found that his symptoms were consistent with what is called "Cervical Spinal Cord Neuropraxia." Symptoms may include sensory dysfunction characterized by burning pain, numbness, and/or tingling of the extremities associated with variable motor impairment ranging from mild weakness to complete paralysis. Neurologic symptoms are typically transient and complete recovery usually occurs in ten to fifteen minutes. This is seen in a lot of American football players.
The specialist ordered an MRI. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) allows you to view soft tissues and muscles as well as the bony structure of the body.
The MRI showed that he had a small benign cyst on his spine. He also had cervical spinal stenosis -- a narrowing of the spinal canal.
Those conditions must have existed for some time before the player experienced his symptoms and were not considered dangerous in themselves. He was released to play by the spinal specialist. He was told to heat and stretch prior to practice, and to ice the area after practice.
He returned to practice, but in the following weeks he had four additional episodes of pain, tingling, and numbness in his arms. A second MRI discovered no change in the cyst or in the stenosis. The cyst was not removed because of the risk of infection. At this point a spine consultant from the National Football League advised that he stop playing.
So the athlete had to hang up the cleats for medical reasons.
It's an emotional ordeal for an athlete to be told he or she cannot play a sport anymore because the body is just not able to perform. Players can go through stages of grief, just as someone does who experiences a divorce or the death of a loved one. There is something called the Five Stages of Grief that a person will go through. They are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
The player adjusted by deciding to not fully walk away from the game. He pursued his love for football in another way. He did it by coaching. He now is an assistant coach for the Lion's football team. A career-ending injury is something many cannot get over, but our football player did. He is doing something he loves now.
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