Football face-mask removal with a cordless screwdriver on helmets used for at least one season of play.

Context: The Inter-Association Task Force for the Appropriate Care of the Spine-Injured Athlete recommends leaving a football player's helmet in place and removing the face mask from the helmet "as quickly as possible and with as little movement of the head and neck as possible." Although 2 groups have studied face-mask removal from new equipment, to our knowledge no researchers have investigated equipment that has been previously used. A full season of play may have a significant effect on football equipment and its associated hardware.

A comparison of head movement during back boarding by motorized spine-board and log-roll techniques.

Context: In a patient with a potential cervical spine injury, minimizing or eliminating movement at the head and neck during stabilization and transport is paramount because movement can exacerbate the condition. Any equipment or technique creating less movement will allow for a more effective and safe stabilization of an injured patient, reducing the likelihood of movement and potential secondary injury.

Objective: To compare the amount of head movement created during the log-roll and motorized spine-board (MSB) stabilization techniques.