Unstable Os Odontoideum

Abstract

A 24-year-old male Marine presented to a direct-access physical therapy clinic with a chief complaint of bilateral hand paresthesia secondary to a parachuting accident when his neck was forced into lateral flexion. Due to the positive neurologic findings and history of trauma, the physical therapist ordered cervical spine imaging. The odontoid was not adequately visualized on radiographs, but computed tomography revealed an os odontoideum. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2016;46(10):930. doi:10.2519/jospt.2016.0417.

Keywords: cervical spine; computed tomography; hand; neck; radiography; upper extremity.