to recover from the massive trauma.
This was not just a devastating injury. It was a medical mystery.
Inside the Injury: A Fracture That Defies the Textbooks
A non-contrast CT scan revealed something never before published in any spine classification manual:
The C5 vertebral body had suffered a retropulsion fracture, meaning it had collapsed and pushed backward into the spinal canal.
A secondary fracture was visible in the upper back portion of the C6 vertebra.
Yet remarkably, there was no damage to the facet joints or pedicles, which are usually
