How to Stabilize Someone With a Neck Injury

If someone falls and hurts their neck, you may want to rush in and help them. But that impulse can cause more harm than good, if you do it the wrong way. This article will teach you how to properly stabilize or immobilize someone who has suffered a possible neck injury.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Towels, sandbags or something else bulky
• Wide tape, a belt or something to tie the patient down with
• Backboard or other long flat board

1. Unless the patient is in imminent danger, do not move them. Moving a patient with a neck injury before they are properly stabilized can cause paralysis or even death.
2. Ask a bystander to hold the person's head and neck in alignment. Then carefully roll the patient onto their back, keeping the head, neck and spine in a straight line.
3. If a backboard or other long, sturdy wooden board is available, roll the patient onto the board instead of the floor or ground.
4. If a board is not available, continue to hold the patient's head steady until trained help arrives.
5. If the patient is on a board, place rolled up towels, sandbags or other bulky items on either side of the patient's head. Use tape, a belt or other tying mechanism to tie the items in place, wrapping the tape or tie around the board and the patient's forehead.
6. If the patient must be moved while on the board, secure the rest of their body to the board using tape or other tying mechanism. Lift the board carefully, using at least two people. Ideally, four people (one at each corner of the board) should lift the board in order to avoid back injury.

Tips & Warnings

• Often our first instinct when someone has suffered a neck injury is to rush up and grab them, especially a child. Absolutely do not give in to this instinct. Moving a person with a severe neck injury can cause paralysis or even death.