Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-19T12:17:11.740Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Surfer's myelopathy: case report and review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2015

Amna Karabegovic ,
Shirley Strachan-Jackman  and
David Carr
Amna Karabegovic
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, ON Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
Shirley Strachan-Jackman
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, ON
David Carr*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, ON Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
*
Emergency Department, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, 399 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON M5T 2S8; e-mail: [email protected].

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Nontraumatic spinal cord injury from surfing is a new entity first described in 2004 and likely of ischemic etiology. We report the case of a 25-year-old man who presented to the emergency department with a 2-week history of lower extremity weakness after surfing in Indonesia. The patient reported developing low back pain, lower extremity weakness, sensory changes, and urinary retention shortly after his first surfing lesson. The patient was subsequently diagnosed with surfer's myelopathy. The purpose of this report is to review the clinical presentation, etiology, risk factors, and management of this increasingly described entity.

Keywords

myelopathyparaparesisspinal cord injurysurfersurfing
Type
Case Report • Rapport De Cas
Information
Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine , Volume 13 , Issue 5 , September 2011 , pp. 357 - 360
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians 2011

References

REFERENCES

1.Nathanson, A, Haynes, P, Galanis, D. Surfing injuries. Am J EmergMed 2002;20:155–60, doi:10.1053/ajem.2002.32650.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2.Thompson, TP, Pearce, J, Chang, G, et al. Surfer’s myelopathy. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 2004;29:E353-6, doi:10.1097/ 01.BRS.0000134689.84162.E7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3.Aviles-Hernandez, I, Garcia-Zozaya, I, DeVillasante, JM. Nontraumatic myelopathy associated with surfing. J Spinal Cord Med 2007;30:288–93.Google Scholar
4.Ropper, AH, Adams, RD, Victor, M, et al, Adams and Victor’s principles of neurology. 9th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2009.Google Scholar
5.Roberts, DR, Roe, J, Baudouin, C. Hyperlordosis as a possible factor in the development of spinal cord infarction. Br J Anaesth 2003;90:797–800, doi:10.1093/bja/aeg136.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Beloeil, H, Albaladejo, P, Hoen, S, et al. Bilateral lower limb hypoesthesia after radical prostatectomy in the hyperlordotic position under general anesthesia. Can J Anaesth 2003;50: 653–6, doi:10.1007/BF03018706.Google Scholar
7.Naiman, JL, Donohue, WL, Prichard, JS. Fatal nucleus pulposus embolism of spinal cord after trauma. Neurology 1961;11:83–7.Google Scholar
8.Kuker, W, Weller, M, Klose, U, et al. Diffusion-weighted MRI of spinal cord infarction-high resolution imaging and time course of diffusion abnormality. J Neurol 2004;251:81824, doi:10.1007/s00415-004-0434-z.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Shinoyama, M, Takahashi, T, Shimizu, H, et al. Spinal cord infarction demonstrated by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. JClin Neurosci 2005;12:466–8, doi:10. 1016/j.jocn.2004.01.010.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Thurnher, MM, Bammer, R. Diffusion-weighted MR imaging (DWI) in spinal cord ischemia. Neuroradiology 2006;48: 795–801, doi:10.1007/s00234-006-0130-z.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Bracken, MB, Shepard, MJ, Collins, WF, et al. A randomized, controlled trial of methylprednisolone or naloxone in the treatment of acute spinal-cord injury. Results of the Second National Acute Spinal Cord Injury Study. N Engl J Med 1990;322:1405–11, doi:10.1056/NEJM199005173222001.Google Scholar
12.Cheshire, WP, Santos, CC, Massey, EW, et al. Spinal cord infarction: etiology and outcome. Neurology 1996;47:321–30.Google Scholar
13.Masson, C, Pruvo, JP, Meder, JF, et al. Spinal cord infarction: clinical and magnetic resonance imaging findings and short term outcome. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2004;75:1431–5, doi:10.1136/jnnp.2003.031724.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14.Surfer’s Myelopathy Foundation. Tips for first time surfers. 2008. Available at: http://www.smawareness.org/tips.html (accessed July 19, 2010).Google Scholar