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A Rocky End to This Year’s Tour de France Competition for Daniel Oss

We’ve talked before about spine whether or not bike riding is good for your back. You may also remember Simon Cowell breaking his back in an e-bike accident. Well, you don’t just need to be riding an e-bike to incur a serious injury from a fall. Although, with the accident we’re talking about today, the biker’s speed may have been faster than you go on a typical electric bike ride.

Daniel Oss, an Italian competitor in the Tour de France, took a bad fall during the race last week and broke his neck!  During the fall he collided with a fan that was leaning into the track to video the race. According to reports, he finished that leg of the race after the fall. However, a later tweet from his team, Team TotalEnergies, announced that they had identified a cervical fracture and Oss would not be completing the remainder of the race.

A cervical fracture means that he has a break or crack in one of the spine bones in his neck. According to the tweet, he will be immobilizing the neck for a few weeks.

Immobilization is an important part of the treatment process for cracked vertebrae, especially when the fracture is located in the neck. This is used to prevent potential damage to the precious nerves in the spine. All communication between our brain and the rest of our body happens via the nerves in the spinal cord. Should a bone fragment, or dislocated vertebrae damage the spinal cord, the individual could suffer permanent damage, including paralysis.

Other potential treatments for a fracture cervical vertebrae could include injections to reduce inflammation, traction, or in severe cases, surgery. We’re all hoping Daniel Oss’s fracture isn’t that severe and that we’ll be able to watch him compete in the next Tour de France!

Blue Distinction Center for Spine Surgery