An 11 -Year-Old Boy Was Showing Off in Front of Friends

An 11 -year-old boy was showing off in front of friends by diving into the shallow end of a swimming pool. After one particularly daring dive, he surfaced quickly and climbed out of the pool, holding his head between his hands. He said that he had hit the bottom of the pool with his head and now had severe pain in the root of the neck, which was made worse when he tried to move his neck. A lateral radiograph revealed that the right inferior articular process of the fifth cervical vertebra was forced over the anterior margin of the right superior articular process of the sixth cervical vertebra, producing a unilateral dislocation with nipping of the right sixth cervical nerve.
-The following symptoms and signs confirmed the diagnosis except which?

A) The head was rotated to the right.
B) There was spasm of the deep neck muscles on the right side of the neck, which were tender to touch.
C) The patient complained of severe pain in the region of the back of the neck and right shoulder.
D) The slightest movement produced severe pain in the right sixth cervical dermatome.
E) The large size of the vertebral canal in the cervical region permitted the spinal cord to escape injury.