@article{ref1,
title="Catastrophic return to play in rugby after double cervical arthrodesis",
journal="Clinical journal of sport medicine",
year="2018",
author="Brauge, David and Sol, Jean C. and Djidjeli, Imène and Roux, Franck-Emmanuel",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="For high-level athletes, most experts consider that 1-level arthrodesis in cervical spine surgery does not prevent return to play. Nevertheless, return remains controversial in cases of 2-level fusions. We report the case of a 27-year-old professional rugby player. He had had a double cervical fusion C5C6 and C6C7 for cervical hernia and was allowed to continue rugby activities afterward. Four years after this surgery, his neck was forced in hyperflexion during a match and complete tetraplegia occurred. A computed tomography scan showed a C3C4 unilateral facet dislocation. The patient was rapidly operated on. At follow-up, 2 years after the accident, the patient remained tetraplegic with no neurologic improvement. If no definitive conclusion can be established on this first observation, many precautions must be taken before a return-to-play decision, especially in contact sports.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1050-642X",
doi="10.1097/JSM.0000000000000637",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/JSM.0000000000000637"
}