The National Football Head and Neck Injury Registry: 14-year report on cervical quadriplegia (1971-1984).

The specter of catastrophic cervical neurotrauma resulting from athletic participation, although infrequent, has been consistently associated with football, water sports, gymnastics, rugby, and ice hockey. Injury involving intracranial hemorrhage can result in death or permanent neurologic impairment, whereas certain fractures and dislocations of the cervical spine are associated with quadriplegia. Athletic injuries to both the central nervous system and spinal cord demand our attention as an active area of clinical and basic injury. A review of the available literature reveals changing injury patterns as well as current concepts regarding the mechanism responsible for most athletic injuries to these structures. Accurate descriptions of the mechanism(s) responsible for a particular injury transcend simple academic interest. In order that preventive measures be implemented, the manner in which injury occurs must be accurately defined. The purpose of this article is to describe how the application of this principle resulted in the significant reduction of cervical spine injuries associated with quadriplegia that have occurred in tackle football since 1976.