Birth trauma of the cervical spine: symptoms, treatment, consequences

Birth trauma of the cervical spine happens because of the difficult delivery and medical errors. Such injuries are called Natal (lat. – associated with the birth). Have serious consequences, or invisibly affecting the life and development of the child in the future. A child with such damage must be treated in a hospital under the supervision of orthopedists. In the treatment of used orthopedic devices, special methods of swaddling, massage, physiotherapy.

Types Natal injuries

Natal trauma of the cervical spine – damage caused by a difficult birth with forceps. The skeleton of the newborn is fragile, easily damaged vertebrae of the cervical spine. This area even in the adult, the weak in the spine. The cervical vertebrae are the smallest, but move a lot and carry a lot of weight. There are several types Natal injuries.

Rotary

When the baby is heavy to pass through the birth canal on their own, doctors believe it is necessary to accelerate this process. Especially if there is a danger to the health of women and children or weak contractions. Then the midwife hands either with a special tool pulls the fetal head. For that, head a little turn in different directions. If the manipulation was carried out carelessly, may be affected or injured the first cervical vertebra. A complication can be a brain compression and narrowing the space inside the spine.

• See also: Subluxation of the cervical vertebra in a child.

Distraction

Distraction injury of the cervical spine in newborns is due to too much stretching. This happens if the fetus is too large, and the shoulder belt comes out of the birth canal. Another reason is the wrong position in the uterus large fetus. Then the midwife forced to pull the newborn in the pelvis, otherwise the head will not be able to exit the birth canal. Surgery is often complicated by rupture of the ligaments, separation of the vertebrae and intervertebral discs of the newborn. In the worst cases, deformation of the spinal cord.

• Read: syndrome short neck in infants

Cranking-compressing

In the case of the Natal trauma of the cervical spine cranking-compressing type newborns creates excessive pressure on the neck. This type of injury happens during the rapid passage of the fetus in the generic channels. Head first stuck, and then very quickly moves to the outside. Rapid childbirth to happen naturally or have been artificially accelerated by physicians. Compressive damage also occur if the doctors try to keep the vagina intact, but the narrow pelvis does not give the fetus safely go. In such situations, the child can break the vertebrae.

• See also: How to straighten the vertebrae themselves.

Complications of birth injury

Even if the cervical vertebrae are damaged severely, the injury will affect the life of the newborn. In the worst case possible death due to rupture of the spinal cord. More often, however, consequences be cerebral palsy, reduce sensitivity, atrophy and paralysis of the limbs.

Symptoms posttraumatischer violations are not evident. But this does not mean that the baby is completely healthy after Natal injuries.

Even in the best cases, there is deterioration of blood circulation in the brain, because of which the child develops slower than healthy peers. Complications may occur at a later age when the child starts school. By this time, parents are not inclined to think that the reason for the birth injury of the neck.

• See also: instability of the cervical spine

Symptoms can include:

• Headache;
• Increase in blood pressure;
• Vegetative-vascular dystonia;
• Muscle atrophy;
• Movement disorders;
• Curvature of the spine.

Natal neck injury left its imprint on the physical and mental health of the child. These children often have too high activity, poor concentration, disturbances of memory. Students with such a history of illness often have problems with learning disabilities.

• See also: href="http://spine.vsebolezni.com/travmy/travma-spinnogo-mozga.html">the Symptoms and effects of spinal cord injuries.

• See also: Rotary subluxation of the cervical vertebra C1

Diagnosis

To understand that the baby has damage to the cervical vertebra, immediately after birth. Pay attention to the following manifestations:

• Neck red, swollen;
• Looks the neck is too long or short;
• Observed muscle spasms in the cervical and occipital region;
• The cervical spine is curved.

Signs that are harder to notice:

• The body, arms and legs of the baby are at too relaxed state;
• The kid is breathing hard, grunts or groans;
• Blue in the face near the nose;
• Nervous child's behavior, sleep disorders, causeless weeping;
• Difficult breast feeding, frequent burping;
• Arrhythmia of the heart.

These symptoms are talking about the Natal trauma of the cervical spine. For a more accurate diagnosis requires radiographic and ultrasound examination, Doppler (shows information about the blood circulation in neck and head area). After research, it turns out, where localized and expressed how much generic damage.

• Recommended reading: spinal stenosis cervical

Treatment

If you have a birth injury to the cervical spine, you must first fix the neck. If the neck is dislocated, you need to straighten the cervical vertebrae. It can be done only by a qualified podiatrist. Fix the neck using a special way of changing: the cervical is a strong cushion of cotton wool and gauze. To swaddle so it will be necessary for several weeks. Sometimes shows not only the fixing of the neck, but complete immobilization using a special cot.

• See also: What are spinal injuries?

If neck injury received during childbirth, the baby was discharged from the hospital is only about a month. During this time the baby is priority treatment. When the neck no longer needs to leave in a fixed position, the child is discharged. The observation is performed in the clinic, in the neurology and orthopedic office.

Assigned massage and water procedures, physiotherapy. You need to follow the development of the pathology for a long time, until the symptoms are completely eliminate.

• See also: injury to the cervical spine, how to treat?

If the child had a dislocated vertebrae, the doctor will recommend wearing a collar Schantz. The collar is worn a few hours a day at night time or permanently, depending on the force of injury. The selection of a collar is based on the individual characteristics of the newborn and trauma. Wrong collar can only worsen the pathology.