Head and Spine Injuries

Axial Skeleton Injuries
Student’s name
Institution affiliation

Axial Skeleton Injuries
The axial skeleton is the part of a skeleton consisting of the bones of the head and the vertebrae trunk. Axial skeleton injuries are damage that affects the axial skeleton. The paper will focus on injuries that happen to the American football players in the National Football. Axial skeleton injuries often occur in NFL due to the activities involved such as blocking and tackling (“Spinal, Axial Skeleton Injuries,” 2012). Injuries always happen in instances like while playing in the field, training and the postseason playoffs. Some of the body parts most affected include lumbar spine, ribs, the thoracic and the spinal cord.
Between the years 2000 and 2010, there were more around 32 thousand injuries in the NFL and almost eight per cent of them affected the axial skeleton. Most of the above injuries occurred during the regular games and the preseason period as the players prepared to participate in the season (“Spinal, Axial Skeleton Injuries,” 2012). The injuries made players miss matches. Some of the characteristics of the players made them suffer more damages than the others. That included aggressive linemen, offensive back defenses linebackers and special team players. Being violent led them to troubles like colliding with their opponents and using more energy while playing instead of mind and mild energy.
Around forty-four percent of all the injuries affected the thoracic disc and cervical spine.

That led to damages such as the lumbar degeneration or herniation, injury to the spinal cord, and cervical fracture. The injuries caused players to miss matches for almost 30 days and others more than that. The above information is vital to the concerned stake as they can now manage to adopt good playing techniques and also help the players in implementing acceptable behaviors while in the field.
Reference
“Spinal, Axial Skeleton Injuries Occurred Most Frequently In The NFL”. Healio.Com, 2012, https://www.healio.com/orthopedics/sports-medicine/news/print/orthopedics-today/%7B19dab4ce-2f79-486c-b145-cd309abdcdae%7D/spinal-axial-skeleton-injuries-occurred-most-frequently-in-the-nfl. Accessed 26 Nov 2018.