[Pediatric orthopedic cervical spine problems].

Treatment-requiring diseases of the cervical spine in children are rare. The most common cases requiring medical assessment and treatment are acute torticollis and various accidents. A torticollis having lasted for more than a week should be recognized, because it can be treated by skull traction. Cervical spine fractures in children under school age are very rare, the most common being a fracture of the base of the dens of the second cervical vertebra. Cervical spine instability is almost always associated with an underlying disease.