Brady Brady

Thanks for the clarification, Mike.

Brady

-----Original Message-----
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On Behalf Of Mike Murray
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2008 11:32 AM
To: obra@list.obra.org
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Injury mode / reaction

I would have to put this story in the category of urban myth. The most
glaring error is that Christopher Reeves suffered a C2 fracture, not a C5
fracture. The difference is pretty significant since a person paralyzed at
C5 remains able to move their arms somewhat but a C2 fracture will generally
kill you by knocking out breathing. In general there is an excessive
attention placed on immobilizing people that may have suffered a cervical
spine injury
(http://emergency-medicine.jwatch.org/cgi/content/full/1998/401/4).
Although it is certainly possible to have a cervical spine fracture and have
minimal symptoms (I have seen this a few times) it is very unlikely that you
will further destabilize the injury by voluntary movement. If you are awake
and alert and you don't feel as though you are injured then you probably are
not. All bets are off if you are knocked out but you really don't have too
wait to have someone else tell you that you are OK before you move. Turns
out we have really pretty good internal sensors to figure that out
ourselves. Mechanism of injury turns out to be a very poor predictor of
severity of injury.

Mike Murray

-----Original Message-----
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
Behalf Of Brady Brady
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2008 09:42 AM
To: obra@list.obra.org
Subject: [OBRA Chat] Injury mode / reaction

First, I'd like to wish all involved in this weekend's nasty spills a speedy
recovery...

Next, in light of the nasty wrecks this weekend, and as the slick
"wheel-washout" season is upon us, I thought I would pass on something I
learned from the EMT instructing my CPR course a couple of weeks ago. Many
of you probably already know this, but for those who may not, here goes.

He said: The injury MODE is at least as important as injury symptoms, and
the fewer the symptoms, the more important it is to rely on injury mode. To
illustrate, he told the story of his brother (hereafter "Bro"), who endoed
into a ditch, landing on his head, while taking a corner.

Although he felt fine (no symptoms!), Bro knew to remain still, having
landed on his head. He did not try to sit up, get to his feet, or move
around. When medics arrived, Bro asked to be treated pre-emptively as if he
had a broken neck, and was placed on a backboard and immobilized.

At the hospital it was discovered that Bro had, in fact, broken his neck at
C5, suffering essentially the same type of injury that rendered the late
Christopher Reeves a quadripeligic. However, because he remained still, his
spinal cord was intact and he was riding again after a relatively short
convalescent period.

Before hearing this story, I'm pretty sure I would have jumped back on the
bike and resumed riding, especially in the absence of symptoms--even after
landing smack on my head... bad idea.

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Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org

Mike Murray

I would have to put this story in the category of urban myth. The most
glaring error is that Christopher Reeves suffered a C2 fracture, not a C5
fracture. The difference is pretty significant since a person paralyzed at
C5 remains able to move their arms somewhat but a C2 fracture will generally
kill you by knocking out breathing. In general there is an excessive
attention placed on immobilizing people that may have suffered a cervical
spine injury
(http://emergency-medicine.jwatch.org/cgi/content/full/1998/401/4).
Although it is certainly possible to have a cervical spine fracture and have
minimal symptoms (I have seen this a few times) it is very unlikely that you
will further destabilize the injury by voluntary movement. If you are awake
and alert and you don't feel as though you are injured then you probably are
not. All bets are off if you are knocked out but you really don't have too
wait to have someone else tell you that you are OK before you move. Turns
out we have really pretty good internal sensors to figure that out
ourselves. Mechanism of injury turns out to be a very poor predictor of
severity of injury.

Mike Murray

-----Original Message-----
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
Behalf Of Brady Brady
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2008 09:42 AM
To: obra@list.obra.org
Subject: [OBRA Chat] Injury mode / reaction

First, I'd like to wish all involved in this weekend's nasty spills a speedy
recovery...

Next, in light of the nasty wrecks this weekend, and as the slick
"wheel-washout" season is upon us, I thought I would pass on something I
learned from the EMT instructing my CPR course a couple of weeks ago. Many
of you probably already know this, but for those who may not, here goes.

He said: The injury MODE is at least as important as injury symptoms, and
the fewer the symptoms, the more important it is to rely on injury mode. To
illustrate, he told the story of his brother (hereafter "Bro"), who endoed
into a ditch, landing on his head, while taking a corner.

Although he felt fine (no symptoms!), Bro knew to remain still, having
landed on his head. He did not try to sit up, get to his feet, or move
around. When medics arrived, Bro asked to be treated pre-emptively as if he
had a broken neck, and was placed on a backboard and immobilized.

At the hospital it was discovered that Bro had, in fact, broken his neck at
C5, suffering essentially the same type of injury that rendered the late
Christopher Reeves a quadripeligic. However, because he remained still, his
spinal cord was intact and he was riding again after a relatively short
convalescent period.

Before hearing this story, I'm pretty sure I would have jumped back on the
bike and resumed riding, especially in the absence of symptoms--even after
landing smack on my head... bad idea.

_______________________________________________
OBRA mailing list
obra@list.obra.org
http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra
Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org

Brady Brady

First, I'd like to wish all involved in this weekend's nasty spills a speedy recovery...

Next, in light of the nasty wrecks this weekend, and as the slick "wheel-washout" season is upon us, I thought I would pass on something I learned from the EMT instructing my CPR course a couple of weeks ago. Many of you probably already know this, but for those who may not, here goes.

He said: The injury MODE is at least as important as injury symptoms, and the fewer the symptoms, the more important it is to rely on injury mode. To illustrate, he told the story of his brother (hereafter "Bro"), who endoed into a ditch, landing on his head, while taking a corner.

Although he felt fine (no symptoms!), Bro knew to remain still, having landed on his head. He did not try to sit up, get to his feet, or move around. When medics arrived, Bro asked to be treated pre-emptively as if he had a broken neck, and was placed on a backboard and immobilized.

At the hospital it was discovered that Bro had, in fact, broken his neck at C5, suffering essentially the same type of injury that rendered the late Christopher Reeves a quadripeligic. However, because he remained still, his spinal cord was intact and he was riding again after a relatively short convalescent period.

Before hearing this story, I'm pretty sure I would have jumped back on the bike and resumed riding, especially in the absence of symptoms--even after landing smack on my head... bad idea.