C-Spine Injuries in Athletics

Tweet

This past weekend was the first big weekend of football fan work for me this year. I watched the Wisconsin Badgers beat Fresno State on TV and was lucky enough to watch the Packers beat the Bears at Lambeau Field with my best friend of the past 25 years. It was a great game (for Packer fans like me)!

Many EMS professionals provide standby coverage at all levels of athletic competition. With resumption of school year it might be a good time to refresh assessment and care of c-spine injuries. The CentreLearn course library features a two part course by Keith Owsley, paramedic and athletic trainer, that is based on the consensus care guidelines of the National Athletic Trainers Association (pre-hospital care of the spine injured athlete). The lessons are two of the most popular courses we have produced.

Last week a user commented that the photos in the course feature "old style helmets that have ear holes." Keith and I are both aware of newer helmets that don't have ear holes or don't have ear holes that are round as shown in the photos of the lesson. From my simple convenience sample of watching lots of college and pro football this past weekend I can say that helmets with ear holes are still widely used. I also asked Keith to comment and this is what he wanted to share:

"There are some newer style helmets out there that do not have the larger ear holes, I still do not feel they are the norm. Helmets with the ear holes are still very common; one simply needs to watch any major sporting event on television whether high school, collegiate, or professional to see that these helmet are the norm.

Even if the larger ear holes are not present, you can increase the width of the helmet to remove the helmet if this is necessary. However, it still remains, that very few incidents involving c-spine injuries in athletics requires full removal of the helmet. The preferred procedure continues to be that the helmet and shoulder pads remain in place while simply removing the facemask alone to allow full access to the face for treatment and airway management."

We always welcome and appreciate user comments and questions. It is important to remember that medicine is dynamic. The things we do now we might not do in the future. Always apply what you have learned in any CE lesson to the specifics of your agency's protocols and policies.