Surfer's myelopathy

A spinal cord injury caused by hyperextension of the back

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Surfer's myelopathy is a rare nontraumatic injury causing paraplegia which is paralysis below the waist.<ref>,

 Instant Neurological Diagnosis: A Companion to Neurobowl. online version, 
  
 Oxford University Press, 
  
  
  
 ISBN 9780190206284,</ref> It is a spinal cord injury caused by hyperextension of the back. When the back is hyperextended, a blood vessel leading to the spine can become kinked, depriving the spinal cord of oxygen<ref>, 
  
 Handbook of cerebrovascular disease and neurointerventional technique. online version, 
 2nd edition, 
 New York:Springer, 
  
  
  
 ISBN 9781617799457,</ref> The condition gets its name because the phenomenon is most often seen in those surfing for the first time, but it can be caused by any activity in which the back is hyperextended (yoga, pilates, etc.). In some cases the paralysis is permanent.<ref name="magicseaweed">

Rode, Matt. Beginner Surfer Left Paralysed after Suffering Rare Surfer's Myelopathy(link). magicseaweed.com.

2016-07-25.

Accessed 2019-07-24.

</ref>

Prevention

According to DPT Sergio Florian, some recommendations for preventing myelopathy is proper warm up, limiting the session length and sitting on the board while waiting for waves, rather than lying.<ref name="magicseaweed" />

• 
  A surfer paddling.
• 
  A surfer paddling.
• 
  Surfer sitting on his board, thereby resting his back.

History

A case series of 19 novice surfers with nontraumatic myelopathy was published in 2012, with all patients' MRI scans showing hyperintensity from the lower thoracic spinal cord to the conus medullaris.<ref name="pmid23152585">,

 Surfers' myelopathy: a case series of 19 novice surfers with nontraumatic myelopathy, 
 Neurology, 
 2012,
 Vol. 79(Issue: 22),
 pp. 2171–6,
 DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e31827595cd,
 PMID: 23152585,</ref> An additional study of 23 cases was published in 2013.<ref>Nakamoto, B. K., 
 Surfer's Myelopathy: A Radiologic Study of 23 Cases, 
 American Journal of Neuroradiology, 
 
 Vol. 34(Issue: 12),
 pp. 2393–2398,
 DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.A3599,
 PMID: 23828111,
 PMC: 4326257,</ref>

See also

• Rehabilitation in spinal cord injury

Further reading

• ,

 Spinal Cord Vascular Diseases—Advances in Research and Treatment: 2012 Edition: ScholarlyPaper. online version, 
  
 ScholarlyEditions, 
  
  
  
 ISBN 9781481645065,

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