Why The Older Auto Accident Victim Is More Likely To Have Spinal Cord Injury
27 Jul 2007
Certain soft-tissue and bony abnormalities of the cervical spine (the neck) can result in sudden neurological compromise of the extremities if the neck is jarred or forced into hyperextension or flexion, such as in a rear-end automobile accident.
Pre-existing conditions of the neck, even though they are not producing any significant symptoms, may be aggravated during the whiplash motion that often occurs in motor vehicle collisions, even at relatively low speeds.
Osteoarthritis, sometimes called spondylosis, is a disease that causes the breakdown of joint tissue, leading to joint pain and stiffness. It affects almost every person over age 60 to some degree.
In healthy joints, a firm, rubbery material called cartilage covers the edge of each bone, acting as a cushion between the bones. When osteoarthritis occurs, the smooth cartilage surface becomes pitted and frayed and eventually wears away, leaving the ends of the bone exposed. Without the cartilage between the bones, the bones rub together and cause pain, and the joint may lose its normal shape. The bone ends may eventually thicken and form bony growths, or spurs, called osteophytes. When this occurs in the spine, it can lead to degenerative disc disease
The causes of osteoarthritis include wear and tear on the joints, especially the joints that bear weight -- the knees, hips, feet, and spine. Other factors are heredity, obesity, poor diet, and trauma to the joint, such as a fracture.
Cervical spondylosis with narrowing of the cervical spinal canal is common in older people, appearing in 85% of persons older than age 60 and in almost all persons older than age 80.
This narrowing, with associated osteoarthritic or discogenic disease, appears not only in persons with spinal pain but also in more than 25% of asymptomatic persons, who have never had neck, shoulder, or arm pain, which also increase frequently with aging.
Because of the spondylosis with narrowing or stenosis, older people are at risk for compression of the spinal cord, producing myelopathy, and of its nerves, producing radiculopathy, from either flexion or extension of the neck.
This compression can follow whiplash injuries as a result of extension-acceleration or hyperextension-flexion, even at low speeds.
When a whiplash motion occurs in an automobile accident a driver or passenger with pre-existing osteoarthritis or spondylosis is, therefore, more likely to experience actual spinal cord injury.
