Question
QUESTION: Hi Dr. Gillman,

     Can trauma to an adult person's neck cause a reversal of the cervical vertebrae from the normal convex shape to a concave one?

Rudolph Douglas.

ANSWER: Yes.   

That was easy...    Any other questions?

Dr. G

p.s.  I've answered a lot of questions in the past about reversed curves and the unreasonable sorts of treatment schemes for it.   You may want to search out some of these...

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Dr. gillman,

   Thanks for your prompt response to my initial question.  Now that you have said yes to that question let me ask the question as it applies to me.  I recently fell down and my neck took the brunt of the fall.  An MRI examination indicated that my cervical vertebrae curvature was concave rather than the normal convex curvature.  How does one tell that the reversal in the shape of the curvature was not pre existing?

Rudolph Douglas.  

Answer
Rudolph,

The only way to know is to have had an x-ray of your neck prior to the fall.   Otherwise, it's a presumption.   And, contrary to often-seen comments on radiologists' reports, it is not necessarily caused by neck muscle spasm.   

'Regards,

Dr. G