So I know the neck snap killing is just hollywood magic and in an old post someone said its extremely hard to do even if you are a weightlifter. Im just curious that if someone tried and fumbled or you had an accident to cause such a similar neck injury would you be able to recover without issue or can it lead to paralysis?
In: Biology
It’s all about the spinal cord. If it’s intact, all the communication between the brain and the rest of the body will still work. If it’s partially severed, some communication gets through. And if it’s fully cut, no communication gets through. That communication consists of sensory input to the brain a well as commands from the brain out to other parts of the body. Some of the most important communication is the directives to the muscles around the lungs to draw in air. Which muscles get their information depends on where on the spinal cord gets cut. Too high and the brain can no longer tell any of the breathing muscles to do their jobs – that means that the patient dies if they don’t get immediate medical care.
Traumatic injury to the spine often severs the spinal cord. When it doesn’t, moving the neck around afterwards can cause the broken bones in the neck to cut the spinal cord. If, on the other hand, the neck breaks and the spinal cord doesn’t get injured (initially or by any subsequent movement), proper medical care can allow the spine to heal while keeping the cord healthy and connected.
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