School ager with neck pain whose brother sat on his back

Neurological
CT and MRI of C7 spinous process fracture / Clay shoveler fracture
Lateral radiograph of the cervical spine shows a lucency through the middle part of the spinous process of the C7 vertebral body. Sagittal STIR MRI without contrast of the cervical spine shows bright signal representing edema in the interspinous ligaments between the C6-C7 and C7-T1 vertebral bodies.

The diagnosis was a spinous process of the C7 vertebral body (Clay shoveler) fracture with associated interspinous ligamentous sprain.

Published