The most common way to injure your spine is through direct force. The spine can only move so far and still protect your spinal cord. Direct and general force bends and breaks the spine past its limits of flexibility. Our bodies are often at the mercy of the laws of physics, and though we have evolved to survive the forces of nature, sometimes technology and activities push those limits to the point of breaking.
Some of the most common causes of spinal injuries include:
Acceleration/deceleration injuries: Common when a body in motion stops suddenly and then returns to motion suddenly, and common with a variety of different injuries in which speed and force is an issue.
Impacts and collisions: Something heavy or traveling with a lot of force strikes the spine; typical of violence-related injuries, car collisions, work-related injuries, and sports injuries.
Vehicle accidents: Cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, and airplanes travel at great speeds, and when they wreck, the results are often widespread and may inflict lots of damage. The body can only withstand so much, and the breaking point is, unfortunately, your spine in many cases. Due to the severity and complexity of a vehicle accident, injuries may be severe and varied.
Swimming: Diving into shallow water is dangerous because of the force and the angle in which your neck and back may strike an object or the bottom of a pool of water. The surrounding water offers a lot of resistance, which your body cannot withstand the way it would on dry land, and so the force is unable to be displaced through your body’s flexibility. A spinal injury in a pool may also result in a loss of consciousness and thus the possibility of drowning. Shutting off oxygen to the brain quickly results in brain damage beyond the extent of the trauma alone.
Sports injuries: Whether it is football, hockey, soccer, rock climbing, cycling, or martial arts, any time you push your body to the limit, your spine is at risk. Studies have shown that sports-related impacts over time can cause brain damage in the form of concussions and other injuries.
Assaults: Being attacked physically with either a blunt weapon, knife, or gunshot can cause extreme damage to your spinal cord. Even physical assaults without weapons direct enough force to the spine in direct impacts, twisting, and even asphyxiation to damage your nerve tissue. Being shaken, kicked, struck, or grappled can result in permanent injury.
Slip and fall: Your body picks up a lot of force and momentum as it suddenly goes from a standing position to hitting the ground. A slip and fall can result in a spinal injury, especially if the neck comes out of alignment. It doesn’t take much force to break a back or a neck, despite the importance of both to the rest of the body.