Ross D. Segan is Senior at Salisbury State University, Department of Athletic Training, Salisbury, MD 21801. He currentlyhas a 9-month assistant athletic trainer internship with the Philadelphia Eagles Football Team in Philadelphia.
J Athl Train. 1993 Winter;28(4):294-305.
In some areas, it is a commonly accepted emergency medical technician protocol to remove a helmet during the initial management of suspected cervical spine injures. After a comprehensive survey of relevant literature, four primary reasons why Emergency Medical Services professionals would desire to remove a helmet emerge. Sources suggest that the presence of a helmet might: 1) interfere with immobilization of the athlete; 2) interfere with the ability to visualize injuries; 3) cause hyperflexion of the cervical spine; and 4) prevent proper airway management during a cardiorespiratory emergency. Many available protocols are designed for the removal of closed chamber motorcycle helmets that do not have removable face masks. There are a great number of differing viewpoints regarding this issue. The varying viewpoints are results of the failure of many emergency medical technician management protocols to address the unique situation presented by a football helmet. We: 1) demonstrate that football helmet removal is potentially dangerous and unnecessary, 2) suggest that cardiorespiratory emergencies can be effectively managed without removing the helmet, and 3) provide sports medicine professional with information that may be used to establish a joint Emergency Medical Services/Sports Medicine emergency action plan.
在某些地区，急救医疗技术员的一个常见急救医疗规程是在初步处理疑似颈椎损伤时移除头盔。在对相关文献进行全面调查后，出现了急救医疗服务专业人员希望移除头盔的四个主要原因。有资料表明，头盔的存在可能会：1）妨碍对运动员的固定；2）妨碍观察损伤的能力；3）导致颈椎过度伸展；4）在心肺紧急情况下妨碍适当的气道管理。许多现有的规程是为移除没有可移动面罩的封闭式摩托车头盔而设计的。关于这个问题有很多不同的观点。不同的观点是由于许多急救医疗技术员管理规程未能解决橄榄球头盔所呈现的独特情况所致。我们：1）证明橄榄球头盔的移除是潜在危险且不必要的，2）表明无需移除头盔即可有效地管理心肺紧急情况，3）为运动医学专业人员提供可能用于制定急救医疗服务/运动医学联合应急行动计划的信息。
