The effect of spinal immobilization on healthy volunteers

A Statewide, Prehospital Emergency Medical Service Selective Patient Spine Immobilization Protocol

“…Alternatively, patient immobilization on long spine boards is well recognized as uncomfortable for patients, with back pain inflicted by the immobilization intervention directly proportional to the amount of time restrained by these devices. 5,12,13 Prehospital providers may have suspected that increased patient pain resulting from the use of an immobilization board would exceed the potential benefit derived from immobilization or the risk of an unstable spine injury.…”

Prospective Performance Assessment of an Out-of-Hospital Protocol for Selective Spine Immobilization Using Clinical Spine Clearance Criteria

“…Immobilization has been demonstrated to cause back and head pain, resulting in an increased number of radiographs required to clear the spine in the emergency department (ED). [3][4][5] Rigid spine immobilization can also cause pressure-related tissue breakdown, restrict respirations, and, if used aggressively, actually cause spinal cord injury. 6,7 Importance ED studies have confirmed the ability of clinical criteria to reliably determine the need for spine radiographs, although the majority of these have addressed only the cervical spine.…”

Prehospital Use of Cervical Collars in Trauma Patients: A Critical Review

“…127,[159][160][161][162][163][164][165][166] Additionally, discomfort, pain, and related stress responses are not an insignificant problem and can be a confounding factor in initial patient assessment and trauma management. [167][168][169][170][171][172] Patients that have received spinal immobilization are more likely to proceed to radiological examinations to ''clear the neck.'' 13,171,173 This is concerning, in light of the accumulating evidence on the unfavorable radiation effects of computed tomography (CT) scanning, [174][175][176] especially in children.…”