{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,10]],"date-time":"2025-12-10T05:29:58Z","timestamp":1765344598289,"version":"3.46.0"},"reference-count":65,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,10]],"date-time":"2025-12-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765324800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Neurol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This review systematically traces the evolution of subaxial cervical spine classification, highlighting the paradigm shift from morphological description to decision-oriented functional assessment and exploring future technological directions.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A comprehensive narrative literature review was conducted, analyzing key classification systems, their underlying principles, and the technological advancements shaping the field.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Early mechanistic classifications were limited by poor interobserver reliability. The Subaxial Injury Classification (SLIC) system was a pivotal advance, integrating morphology, disco-ligamentous complex (DLC) integrity, and neurological status into a treatment-guiding score. However, its inconsistent reliability, particularly in DLC assessment, limited its adoption. The subsequent AO spine classification resolved these issues by introducing a more rigorous, hierarchical framework that achieved excellent, validated interobserver reliability. Crucially, the AO spine system also provides significant prognostic value by correlating morphological subtypes with long-term neurological recovery.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The classification of cervical trauma has transitioned from a descriptive to an applied science. Future developments promise to resolve remaining challenges: artificial intelligence (AI) offers a definitive solution to interobserver variability, advanced imaging like diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) will refine prognostication, and brain-computer interfaces (BCI) provide new hope for functional reconstruction in severe injuries, heralding an era of precision medicine.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2025.1728720","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,10]],"date-time":"2025-12-10T05:25:45Z","timestamp":1765344345000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The evolution of cervical spine trauma classification: a paradigm shift from morphological description to clinical decision-making"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Xihao","family":"Huang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yihong","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Haowei","family":"Xiao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jinlong","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yu","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","first-page":"1","article-title":"Epidemiological characteristics of 630 hospitalized patients with cervical spine injury","volume":"17","author":"Shi","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nurs Pract Res"},{"key":"ref2","first-page":"626","article-title":"Epidemiological analysis of 956 hospitalized patients with traumatic spinal cord injury from 2012 to 2019","volume":"31","author":"Li","year":"2021","journal-title":"Chin J Spine Spinal Cord"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"390","DOI":"10.1097\/00002517-199212000-00002","article-title":"The stabilizing system of the spine. 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