Abstract
We report a patient with osteopetrosis who suffered the rare occurrence of traumatic multiple fractures of the cervical spine (C2-C6). The patient was a 14-yeas-old boy who fell head-first onto a high-jump mat while wrestling with a friend. Flexion and compression were apparently caused by the sudden external force exerted on the cervical spine, resulting in multiple fractures of the cervical vertebrae. Plain X-ray films, CT scans, and MRI revealed a continuous fracture extending across multiple vertebrae like a crack in a china plate. Bone union was delayed in this patient when compared with that in healthy individual. The possibility of cervical spinal deformity and intervertebral disc degeneration needs to be checked during long-term follow-up, and education of the patient is necessary to prevent spinal cord injury that may be brought about due to bone fragility in this condition.
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