The Science of Peyton's Injury
Surgery and Recovery
Surgery Procedure
Peyton Manning elected to have a fusion in his neck to replace the damaged vertebrae and help bring back his strength. He suffered from a cervical disc dislocation. This occurs when the cushioned tissue disks along your vertebrae are broken down, and no longer serve as protection to your bone structure. The deterioration and pain pinch down on your nerves that connect to your shoulder. This chokes circulation to your shoulder and causes loss of strength and excess pain. To repair it, doctors had to replace the damaged part of the vertebrae with a titanium plate and fuse it to the healthy vertebrae with screws. It is typically a successful surgery, but recovery is the difficult part. With a successful recovery, your neck will becomemuch stronger and your shoulder strength also improves.
Doctors say Peyton Manning's neck will be stronger than ever, and his re-injury risk is low.
How this Benefits Atheltes?
With a surgery to fuse titanium into your vertebrae to strengthen it and will help lengthen athlete's careers. Titanium can be fused into various parts of the body's structure. Just like Peyton Manning, a successful surgery and recovery can help all athletes return healthier and stonger, thus helping make their career longer. Only the tip of the iceberg has been uncovered. Research into these types of procedures is taking place. It appeals to many doctors, scientists, and athletes looking to continue their careers, and still be successful. It is going to be explored in other sports with other movements. Currently, it is a risky surgery because recovery is tough, but doctors believe athletes would risk it to help continiue their professional sports career