Mechanisms of cervical spine injury in rugby union: Is it premature to abandon hyperflexion as the main mechanism underpinning injury?

摘要

Cervical spine injuries in rugby union have received growing worldwide attention owing to their often catastrophic nature.Kuster tt al considered recent changes in the epidemiology as well as the ex vivo biomechanics literature on cervical spine injury during head-first impacts. Kuster postulated that the majority of catastrophic cervical spine injuries before year 2000 occurred through a hyperflex-ion mechanism in the scrum and since the year 2000, these injuries have occurred during tackles via an axial compression mechanism and related 'buckling' of the cervical spine.