Open AccessMagnetic Resonance Imaging Findings in High School Football Players: Brain and Cervical Spine
Author(s) -
Hua Yu,
Lara Wadi,
Irene Say,
Annlia PaganiniHill,
Daniel Chow,
Arash Jafari,
Saifal-Deen Farhan,
Shane Rayos Del Sol,
Osama Mobayed,
Andrew P. Alvarez,
Anton N. Hasso,
Scott Shunshan Li,
Hung Xuan,
Dawn Berkeley,
Yu-Po Lee,
Lydia Min-Ying Su,
Charles Rosen,
Mark Fisher
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
neurotrauma reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2689-288X
DOI - 10.1089/neur.2021.0026
Subject(s) - medicine , magnetic resonance imaging , neuroradiologist , neurosurgery , football , football players , neuroradiology , cervical spine , observational study , radiology , orthopedic surgery , physical therapy , neurology , surgery , psychiatry , political science , law
Football exposes its players to traumatic brain, neck, and spinal injury. It is unknown whether the adolescent football player develops imaging abnormalities of the brain and spine that are detectable on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The objective of this observational study was to identify potential MRI signatures of early brain and cervical spine (c-spine) injury in high school football players. Eighteen football players (mean age, 17.0 ± 1.5 years; mean career length, 6.3 ± 4.0 years) had a baseline brain MRI, and 7 had a follow-up scan 9-42 months later. C-spine MRIs were performed on 11 of the 18 subjects, and 5 had a follow-up scan. C-spine MRIs from 12 age-matched hospital controls were also retrospectively retrieved. Brain MRIs were reviewed by a neuroradiologist, and no cerebral microbleeds were detected. Three readers (a neuroradiologist, a neurosurgeon, and an orthopedic spine surgeon) studied the cervical intervertebral discs at six different cervical levels and graded degeneration using an established five-grade scoring system. We observed no statistically significant difference in disc degeneration or any trend toward increased disc degeneration in the c-spine of football players as compared with age-matched controls. Further research is needed to validate our findings and better understand the true impact of contact sports on young athletes.