Clinical Analysis of Spinal Cord Injury With or Without Cervical Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament, Spondylosis, and Canal Stenosis in Elderly Head Injury Patients

Ryuta NAKAE; Hidetaka ONDA; Shoji YOKOBORI; Takashi ARAKI; Akira FUSE; Shigeki TODA; Shigeki KUSHIMOTO; Hiroyuki YOKOTA; Akira TERAMOTO

doi:10.2176/nmc.50.461

Original Articles

Clinical Analysis of Spinal Cord Injury With or Without Cervical Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament, Spondylosis, and Canal Stenosis in Elderly Head Injury Patients

Ryuta NAKAE, Hidetaka ONDA, Shoji YOKOBORI, Takashi ARAKI, Akira FUSE, Shigeki TODA, Shigeki KUSHIMOTO, Hiroyuki YOKOTA, Akira TERAMOTO

Author information

Ryuta NAKAE
Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Nippon Medical School
Hidetaka ONDA
Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Nippon Medical School
Shoji YOKOBORI
Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Nippon Medical School
Takashi ARAKI
Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Nippon Medical School
Akira FUSE
Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Nippon Medical School
Shigeki TODA
Department of Neurosurgery, Nippon Medical School
Shigeki KUSHIMOTO
Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Nippon Medical School
Hiroyuki YOKOTA
Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Nippon Medical School
Akira TERAMOTO
Department of Neurosurgery, Nippon Medical School

Keywords: head injury, spinal cord injury, ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, spondylosis, canal stenosis

JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

2010 Volume 50 Issue 6 Pages 461-465

DOI https://doi.org/10.2176/nmc.50.461

Details

Abstract

Patients with degenerative diseases of the cervical spine, such as ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, spondylosis, and canal stenosis, sometimes present with acute spinal cord injury caused by minor trauma. However, the relative risk of cervical cord injury with these diseases is unknown. The clinical and radiological features of 94 elderly patients with head injury, 57 men and 37 women aged from 65 to 98 years (mean 76.6 years), were retrospectively analyzed to assess the association of spinal cord injury with degenerative cervical diseases. Degenerative cervical diseases were present in 25 patients, and spinal cord injury was more common in the patients with degenerative diseases (11/25 patients) than in the patients without such diseases (3/69 patients; relative risk = 10.2). The incidence of degenerative cervical diseases seems to be increasing in Japan because life expectancy has increased and the elderly are a rapidly growing part of the population. A fall while walking or cycling is a common mechanism of head injury and/or cervical cord injury in the elderly. To decrease the occurrence of cervical myelopathy, prevention by increasing social awareness and avoiding traffic accidents and falls is important.

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