Suspected neck injury and helmet removal

Addressing the care that a player may require with a suspected spinal injury in the conscious player, First Responder will maintain manual in-line stabilization. Once additional members of the team are available, these will be required to a safely effect removal of the protective equipment, the shoulder pads and the helmet. Maintaining manual in-line stabilization, we'll ask the next member of the team to kindly remove the central tether of the shoulder pads. Removing this and then spreading apart the shoulder pads as best they can. Once this is achieved, the next part will be to remove the face cage of the helmet. This can be done with the quick release mechanisms or simple screwdriver to take out the screws. If you want to take the screwdriver and release the buttons on the side just to press the central section and it should click out and then you can pull open the clip and the same on the other side. Just pull it. That's it.

Then if you can kindly unscrew the top section and the screws will come out all the way. And if you do the other one for me, and then you can lift the face cage, the metal bars straight up and off his face. If the certain design of shoulder pad is still restrictive, the side buckles can be removed. Would you like to take the straps off on both sides, please? Next would be to undo the buckles on the chin strap, just on either side of the helmet there are four clips. Maintaining manual in-line stabilization, if you can try and push both of the sides of the shoulder pads down past my knees, and give us better access to the player's neck. Maybe necessary for the first aider to place a knee to keep those out of the way. Now, if you are able to slide both your hands down the side of his neck and maintain his head position in the neutral alignment.

Once the second member of the team is confident that they are maintaining the position of the neck and head, I can now take my hands off the helmet and separate the cheek sections of the helmet to give more space and then gradually remove as my second member of the team slides their hand further and further up to keep the head in position. Once the helmet is off, the next member of the team can then reposition themselves to be able to control the head and neck from the head-end. I have my hands on, I have control of the head. Once the helmet is removed, if the shoulder pads are still in situ, this may result in a position where the head and neck are elevated and if these were to be placed down on to the ground, this will lead to hyperextension of the cervical spine, this demonstrated thus.

This is ideally avoided by positioning the hands around the ears and supporting the base of the head against the shoulders. This can alternatively be done by positioning the hands at the side of the shoulders and maintaining the weight of the head and neck on the forearms. Once additional members of the team are available, removal of the shoulder pads by the method of log roll will be necessary to remove the shoulder pads from behind the player. Logrolling the player to be able to remove the shoulder pads requires three members of the team on the player's body, as well as one continuing to maintain manual in-line stabilisation. Hand position in order to effectively and safely continue with this log roll it will be demonstrated in this manner.

The most head-end person will place a hand over the shoulder, ideally with the arm away from the body and then placing their second hand against the hip. The next member of the team down towards the waist of the player would cross over the arm to place their hand again, on the hip of the player, as well as their hand underneath the knee. The last member of the team then at the feet-end, will put their hand over the top of the knee and control the foot. And then, as all members coordinate on the instruction of the team member controlling the head and neck on a count of ready, set, move, the player will be then rolled to one side to be able to release the shoulder pads from underneath the player. If a spinal board or scoop stretcher are available at that stage, this can be then replaced to be able to move the player off the playing surface.