However, the athlete has unique postoperative demands and the decision to “allow” an athlete to return to competitive sports after a spinal or plexus injury can be difficult. This article reviews the several studies, available guidelines and peer-reviewed publications to aid in the decisions to allow athletes to return to sports.
Currently, there are no standardized consensus guidelines for return to play after spine injuries. However, there is good general agreement on 4 fundamental criteria that must be met for a player to return to playing a sport; the athlete should be pain free, have full range of motion, full strength, and no evidence of neurologic injury.
Despite the apparent lack of consensus amongst practitioners and the failure to find a highly sensitive and specific parameter with which to predict those at greatest risk, several authors have elaborated guidelines concerning return to play after injury.
This perhaps illustrates why Torg’s ratio has a poor predictive value, as it only represents anatomical dimensions and not functional mechanics. Furthermore, it has been reported that 50% of athletes experience brachial plexus neurapraxia at some point in their college athletic careers.
The most common mechanism for stingers is head movement in an opposite direction from the shoulder either from a hit to the head or downward traction of the shoulder. This can stretch the nerve roots on the side receiving the blow (traction), or compress or pinch those
Student-athletes who suffer burners may be unable to move the affected arm from their side and will com-plain of burning pain, and poten-tially, numbness traveling from the injured side of the neck through the
the cord itself has been traumatized and may suggested transient quadri-plegia. These athletes should also be immobilized and transported to a medical facility for a more thorough evaluation.