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SPINAL CORD INJURIES FROM WATER SPORTS
Author(s) -
Burke David C.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1972.tb103797.x
Subject(s) - medicine , tetraplegia , spinal cord , publicity , surgery , cervical spine , spinal cord injury , psychiatry , marketing , business
Fifty‐two patients have been admitted to the Spinal Injuries Unit of the Austin Hospital over the last eight summers with spinal cord injuries due to aquatic sporting accidents. All but four of these were caused by the victims diving into shallow water and striking their heads on the bottom. Fifty‐one such accidents resulted in cervical injuries, 88% of these being vertical compression, or “burst” fractures. The fifth cervical vertebra was the most commonly involved. More than half of the patients presented with complete tetraplegia, the majority of injuries being below the sixth cervical segment. The treatment and the results of treatment are discussed. A plea is made for pathological examination of the spinal cord in people found to be drowned, and for Press publicity to be given to try to prevent these very serious injuries.