Spineboard Medical Studies
Annals of Emergency Medicine, January
1994 - "Twenty-one healthy volunteers with no history
of back disease were placed in standard backboard
immobilization for a 30-minute period. One hundred percent of
subjects developed pain within the immediate observation
period. Occipital headache and sacral, lumbar, and mandibular
pain were the most frequent symptoms. Fifty-five percent of
subjects graded their symptoms as moderate to severe.
Twenty-nine percent of subjects developed additional symptoms
over the next 48 hours."
Prehospital Emergency Care,
July/September 2000 - "A prospective, nonblinded
comparative trial was conducted at a statewide emergency
medical services training facility using a convenience sample
of emergency medical technician students. After lying
motionless for 10 minutes, students evaluated each device
using a 10-centimeter visual analog scale. Increasing the
amount of padding on a backboard decreased the amount of
ischemic pain caused by immobilization."
Academic Emergency Medicine,
August 1995 - "Adding closed-cell
foam padding to a long spine board significantly improves
comfort without compromising c-spine immobilization."
Annals of Emergency Medicine, July 1995 -
"In a simulated immobilization experiment, healthy
volunteers reported significantly less pain during
immobilization on a spine board with interposed air mattress
than during that on a spine aboard without a mattress.
Tissue-interface pressures were significantly higher on spine
boards without air mattresses. This and previous studies
suggest that immobilization on rigid spine boards is painful
and may produce tissue-interface pressure high enough to
resulting the development of pressure necrosis
('bedsores')."
Prehospital Emergency Care, April-June
1998 - "Pain is frequently reported by healthy volunteers
following spinal immobilization."
Annals of Emergency Medicine, August
1991- "Immobilization on a flat backboard would place 98% of
our study subjects in relative cervical extension. Occipital
padding would place a greater percentage of patients in
neutral position and increase patient comfort during
transport."
Prehospital Emergency Care,
July-September 2001 - "Although many pressure point locations were
studied, only three had results that appeared statistically
significant: the occiput, lower back, and sacrum. The hard
board method of spinal immobilization generates higher
self-reported pain scale scores than the two vacuum
mattresses."
Emergency Med Journal, January
2001 - "Complications associated with the use of the spinal
board were found in five clinically relevant categories:
pressure sore development�"
American Journal of Physical
Medicine and Rehabilitation 1998 - "59% of patients developed pressure
ulcers within 30 days of admission to the hospital, and
58% developed more than one ulcer. The most frequent site of
the initial pressure ulcer was the sacral area followed by the
heel & time on the spinal board was strongly associated
with ulcers. In this prospective study of the development of
pressure ulcers in spinal cord-injured patients, we found that
59% of patients developed a grade one pressure ulcer within 30
days of admission to the hospital, most commonly in the sacral
area."
Department of Emergency Medicine; Los
Angeles County/ University of Southern California Medical
Center, April 1993 - "Standard spinal immobilization may be a
cause of pain in an otherwise healthy subject."
Emergency Medicine and Trauma
Center, and Department of Medical Research, Methodist Hospital
of Indiana, September 1989 - "Because cervical and lumbar pain and
tenderness are the usual criteria for obtaining spine
radiographs, the use of spine boards may result in unnecessary
radiography. We further conclude that immobilization on rigid
spine boards significantly adds to the discomfort of trauma
victims."
