However, despite its long association with judicial hangings, one study of a series of such hangings showed that only a small minority of hangings produced a hangmans fracture.Apart from hangings, the mechanism of injury—a sudden forceful hyperextension centered just under the chin—occurs mainly with deceleration injuries in which the victims face or chin strike an unyielding object with the neck in extension. The most common scenario is a frontal motor vehicle accident with an unrestrained passenger or driver, with the person striking the dashboard or windshield with their face or chin. Other scenarios include falls, diving injuries, and collisions between players in contact sports.Although a hangmans fracture is unstable, survival from this fracture is relatively common, as the fracture itself tends to expand the spinal canal at the C2 level. It is not unusual for patients to walk in for treatment and have such a fracture discovered on X-rays. Only if the force of the injury is severe enough that the vertebral body of C2 is severely subluxed from C3 does the spinal cord become crushed, usually between the vertebral body of C3 and the posterior elements of C1 and C2. Prevention
Car crashes
Most commonly this can occur during a car accident. A person involved in a car crash, especially with no seat belt, can slam their chin against the steering wheel, dashboard, or windshield, causing the hyperextension to occur. Contact sports
Falling and colliding with other people in a contact sport can also cause this fracture. Falling causes the weight of the body to force hyperextension.
Mouth breathing, medically known as chronic oral ventilation, is long-term breathing through the mouth. It often is caused by an obstruction to breathing through the nose, the innate breathing organ in the human body. Chronic mouth breathing may be associated with illness. The term "mouth-breather" has developed a pejorative slang meaning. Etymology
In the early 20th century, "mouth-breather" was a technical term used by doctors to describe children who were breathing through their mouths due to an underlying medical condition. English lexicographer Jonathon Green notes that by 1915, the phrase "mouth-breather" had developed a pejorative connotation within English slang, defined as a "stupid person." Currently, the Macmillan Dictionary defines the term "mouth breather" as a pejorative noun that is used to mean "a stupid person." Overview
Jason Turowski, MD of the Cleveland Clinic states that "we are designed to breathe through our noses from birth — its the way humans have evolved." Thus, the impact of chronic mouth breathing on health is a research area within orthodontics (and the related field of myofunctional therapy) and anthropology. It is classified into three types: obstructive, habitual, and anatomic. : 281 Nasal breathing produces nitric oxide within the body, while mouth breathing does not. In addition, the Boston Medical Center notes that the nose filters out particles that enter the body, humidifies the air we breathe and warms it to body temperature.