Effects of spinal immobilization at 20° on respiratory functions.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate whether spinal immobilization with a long backboard (LBB) and semirigid cervical collar (CC) at 20° instead of 0° conserve pulmonary functions, including forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and FEV1/FVC ratio.

Methodology: The study included 56 adult healthy volunteers. Volunteers were randomly divided into 2 groups, and those in the first group (group 1) had LBBs and CCs applied at 0° (n=30), whereas volunteers in the second group (group 2) had LBBs and CCs applied at 20° (n=26).