Dunster Player's Injury Is Healing

Dan Bridges, injured in last Thursday's Dunster-Winthrop House football game, is "doing very well," a doctor on the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital's neuro surgical service said yesterday.

His injury is diagnosed as a "dislocation and slight fracture of the third cervical vertebra." "Fortunately," said the doctor, "there was not enough dislocation to cause any pressure on the spinal cord." He will be immobilized in a neck traction for the next three to six weeks.

"This type of injury," the doctor said, "usually happens when a player is hit in such a way that his neck flexes and his chin is forced down on his chest. To reduce this dangerous flex, players should be trained to hit and tackle properly and to keep their necks extended when hit."