Q: My daughter (with Down syndrome) signed up
for Special Olympics and we were told she needs an x-ray of her neck. Why does
she need this?
A: As you may be aware, children with Down
syndrome have problems with ligament laxity (looseness) and this can occur in
the cervical spine (neck), especially at the occiput (back of the head) - C1
vertebra (occipital-atlanto) and C1-C2 vertebrae (atlantoaxial) levels. Cervical spine x-rays can help determine
whether there is ligament laxity and/or instability at these levels of the
neck. If there is evidence of
instability of the cervical vertebrae, the child may be at risk for
catastrophic neurologic damage with even mild cervical spine injury. Consequently, they should not participate
(and will not be allowed to participate) in Special Olympics. In addition, they
may require surgical treatment of their instability (i.e., cervical spine
instrumentation and fusion), which we do here at Riley.
Jodi L. Smith,
Ph.D., M.D.
Pediatric
Neurosurgery
Riley Hospital
for Children
Assistant
Professor of Surgery
Indiana
University School of Medicine
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