ST. CLOUD, Minn. — As bad as the injury is to Alex Kupka, it could have been much worse. Kupka, a 17-year-old forward from Trnava, Slovakia, suffered a broken C2 vertebrae when he was checked from ...

St. Cloud Blizzard forward back on the ice after broken vertebrae Alex Kupka, an 18-year-old from Trnava, Slovakia, skate on the ice with his North American Hockey League junior team on Wednesday.

The vertebrae that make up the cervical spine are the smallest seven within the spinal column. These bones give the neck structure, support the skull, and protect the spinal cord, among other ...

The description, gruesome as it is, conjures images of Clint Eastwood in a movie western. When people suffer a break to the C2 vertebrae in their neck, it’s often called a “hangman’s fracture.” It is ...

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby skates during practice in Sunrise, Fla., Friday, Jan. 13, 2012. Crosby skated with his teammates for the first time in more than a month on Friday but still has ...