National Football Head and Neck Injury Registry (established in 1975). As a result of Dr. Torg's findings the NFL as well as other levels of American football have outlawed the act of spearing, or the lowering of the head and hitting an opponent with the crown of the helmet. The cervical spine cannot properly absorb the force of a collision when the head is even slightly lowered as is the case in spearing. In addition to outlawing acts such as spearing, prevention of neurapraxia on the football field relies on instruction and reinforcement of proper tackling technique by coaches and trainers. In popular culture In M*A*S*H Season 4 Episode one, Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce claims that Walter "Radar" O'Reilly has neurapraxia as an excuse for driving past a military checkpoint. Hawkeye lies about the causes and treatments to keep them from getting into trouble. When questioned by Radar if it was a real disease, he answered "Yes, but only people that bite their nails can get it" (which Radar was currently doing). See also Nerve injury Neuroregeneration Seddon's classification References External links Peripheral nervous system disorders