11/05/2025
🏒 The cervical spine needs to be assessed in cases of concussion injuries.
In cases of injuries resulting from significant impacts to the head, there is often a simultaneous whiplash injury to the cervical spine. This connection makes sense given the anatomical relationship between the head and neck.
When we examine the impact required to cause these injuries, we find that the linear acceleration needed to induce a concussion is usually between 60 and 100 g or higher. In contrast, the linear acceleration needed to cause a whiplash injury can be as low as 4 to 5 g.
While there are other factors to consider, such as rotational acceleration, impact angle, and duration, it's clear that far lesser impact is typically required to injure the soft tissues and joints of the neck compared to causing a mild traumatic brain injury. As a result, these two injuries often occur simultaneously.
Additionally, this means that sub-concussive head impacts can also lead to injuries in the cervical spine.
It's recommended to conduct both a musculoskeletal assessment and a sensorimotor assessment.