How You Can Help Prevent Spinal Cord Injuries in Football

The first day of fall is upon us, and with it comes America’s favorite past time—football. For the six-month off-season, we yearn for the smell of burning leaves; the sound of players cracking shoulder pads; and the thrill of the last-second hail Mary pass play.  And for football players, there is excitement in the air as they suit up to play the season.

Unfortunately, with the passion of competition, may also come the agony of injury.  For instance:

• There were more than 1.35 million youths from the ages of six to 19 years of age that were injured severely enough to be sent to the emergency room in 2012¹.
• Sport participation constitutes the fourth most common cause (approximately eight percent) of all spinal injuries², but it is the second most common cause after motor vehicle crashes for those under the age of 30.³
• From 1977-2012, there have been a total of 266 high school football players with incomplete neurological recovery from cervical cord injuries.⁴
• Football has the highest number of cervical spine injuries of any high school sport.⁵

Although these statistics are alarming, precautionary measures can be taken to greatly reduce the risk of a serious spinal injury.  It is important that you do your part to ensure these preventative tips are followed to keep players as safe as possible.

Find and fit the right equipment
The first step to football safety is to find and fit the right-size protective equipment.  Although there is not a 100 percent solution to preventing spinal cord or brain injuries, football-equipment manufacturers like Ridell^® continue to develop technology that dramatically reduces the likelihood of a serious injury.  These products include smart helmets, collars, shoulder and kneepads, and should always be worn and maintained according to manufacturers’ guidelines for maximum injury prevention.



Tackle the technique
Most of a football player’s safety rests within the six inches between his ears. Meaning, a player should never drop or tackle with his head. A player can also take more control of his safety on the field by learning and training the proper tackling and blocking techniques—again, again, again and again.

USA Football, a national governing body for the sport of amateur football, has a great website with videos that teach players, coaches and parents football fundamentals.  The organization has what it calls Heads Up Tackling^SM techniques and other football-safety programs.



Get strong
Regardless of what position an athlete plays, strengthening one’s neck is vital to preventing serious spinal cord injury.  The stronger the muscles supporting the neck, the less likely an athlete will sustain a serious injury and have a safer, better and more fun football season.  Some of the exercises a player should complete on a regular basis with an instructor, trainer or physical therapist include:

• Flexion (chin to chest)
• Extension (eyes to ceiling)
• Rotation
• Lateral flexion (ear to shoulder)
• Shoulder shrugs

For more information about these exercises, watch this USA Football neck-exercise video.

We continue to see football injury statistics decrease year-over-year with recent developments in technology, better education and the right people involved in the sport. Whether you are an avid fan, parent, coach or player, it is our responsibility to keep this sport as fun and safe as possible for everyone.


This blog was provided by SpineOne.

About SpineOne
SpineOne is a leading-regional medical center for minimally invasive spine care and has treated thousands of people in Colorado and surrounding states for back and/or neck pain. SpineOne provides doctor consultations, MRIs and treatments all from the same facility for your convenience.  Same-day appointments are also available upon request.

Call 303.500.8611 or visit www.spineone.com today.




Sources:
¹Ferguson RW. Safe Kids Worldwide Analysis of Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) data, 2013.
²National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center. Spinal Cord Injury: Facts and Figures at a Glance, 2011. Birmingham: University of Alabama; 2011. https://www.nscisc.uab.edu/PublicDocuments/nscisc_home/pdf/Facts%202011%20Feb%20Final.pdf
³Nobunga A, Go B, Karunas R. Recent demographic and injury trends in people served by the model spine cord injury case systems. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1999;80(11):1372-1382
⁴Mueller FO, Colgate B. Annual Survey of Catastrophic Football Injuries 1977-2011. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina; 2012. http://www.unc.edu/depts/nccsi/FBAnnual2012.pdf.
⁵Mueller FO, Cantu RC. National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research: Twenty-Ninth Annual Report, Fall 1982–Spring 2011. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina.