Spinal Injury in Athletes: Prevalence and Classification

The past several decades have seen an increase in sports participation across all age groups and expertise levels. Although the exact activity levels and physiologic demands vary by sport, the risk for spinal injury always exists. Both cervical and thoracolumbar spinal injuries can occur through falls, jumps, and direct player-to-player impact. Spine injuries can occur regardless of the type of competition—team or individual; recreational or professional; collision, contact, or non-contact sports. The mechanism, location, and severity of injury can vary widely depending on the mechanism and forces involved. The most common injuries affect the soft tissue and do not require invasive intervention or prolonged absence from play; however, catastrophic injuries can be associated with spinal cord injury, paralysis, and the need for urgent surgical intervention. As professional sports associations have changed player, game, and equipment regulations to better protect the safety of the athletes, spine injury management has also evolved over the years, resulting in enhanced and more accurate classification, prognostication, and management of different sports-related spinal injuries. More recently, evidence and expert consensus-based spinal injury severity scores are available and promote a more uniform standard of care in clinical and surgical decision making, ultimately improving patient outcomes.