British Journal of Sports Medicine 2009;43:455-459
Occasional pieces
Clinics in neurology and neurosurgery of sport: cervical disc prolapse
1 Cabrini Medical Centre, Malvern, Victoria, Australia
2 Barts and London Hospital Trust, London, UK
3 Spinal Injuries Unit, Royal Northshore Hospital and Department of Neurosurgery, Royal Northshore Hospital and Dalcross Private Hospital, Sydney, Australia
4 Centre for Health, Exercise and Sports Medicine, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Associate Professor P McCrory, Centre for Health, Exercise and Sports Medicine, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3010; p.mccrory@unimelb.edu.au
Accepted 17 March 2008
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
A cervical intervertebral disc can prolapse (hernia or rupture) asymptomatically or may produce neck pain, nerve root compression (radiculopathy) or spinal cord compression (myelopathy). Surgery is indicated in cases of cervical myelopathy. In cases of symptomatic cervical radiculopathy, surgery is indicated in cases that fail to respond to conservative treatment. Surgical approaches to the cervical spine are usually anterior or posterior. Currently, anterior cervical discectomy is the most common procedure used. This may be performed alone or with the addition of fusion (insertion of a bone graft) and with or without instrumentation (an intervertebral prosthesis or use of plates or screws). An alternative to fusion (arthrodesis) is a disc replacement (arthroplasty). There is extensive debate among spinal surgeons as to the most appropriate technique, and as the literature lacks absolute clarity regarding the superiority of one technique over another, most spinal surgeons use the technique that works well
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