Cervical Spine CT Can Miss Fractures in American Football Players When Protective Equipment is in Place: A Cadaver Study.

Background: Iatrogenic worsening of spinal injury can result in significant harm to American football players and complicate management when equipment is removed in the acute setting by inexperienced personnel. Spine imaging before removal of protective equipment mitigates this risk. There is no consensus regarding the ideal timing of equipment removal or whether current diagnostic imaging modalities are effective to detect such injuries without equipment removal.