You are called for a 35 year-old female motorcycle passenger with neck pain after an accident. She is walking with one hand on her head and the other holding her cell phone. You should:

You are called for a 35 year-old female motorcycle passenger with neck pain after an accident. She is walking with one hand on her head and the other holding her cell phone. You should:

• A. Approach her from the front and apply manual stabilization of her cervical spine.
• B. Approach from the rear and stabilize her neck later.
• C. Immediately remove her helmet and check airway.
• D. Survey the scene and wait for additional support before approaching.

Answer: (A)

In trauma with suspected neck injury, the priority is to prevent any movement of the spine to avoid worsening damage. Even if the patient is walking and showing neck pain, treat her as having a potential cervical spine injury and start in-line stabilization immediately. Approaching from the front lets you establish verbal contact and simultaneously control the head and neck in a neutral alignment with your hands. This minimizes movement while you assess airway, breathing, and circulation and begin any needed care. Approaching from the rear would require turning or lifting the patient, which risks moving the neck and could worsen a spinal injury. Removing the helmet right away is not the best move because taking it off can cause neck movement and may compromise the airway unless there’s an urgent airway need or you’re trained to do helmet removal with spinal precautions. You want to keep stabilization and manage the airway with caution rather than creating more risk. Waiting for additional help before approaching would delay essential stabilization and assessment. So, the proper approach is to come in from the front and apply manual stabilization of the cervical spine to keep the head, neck, and spine aligned while you continue the primary survey and arrange for immobilization.

In trauma with suspected neck injury, the priority is to prevent any movement of the spine to avoid worsening damage. Even if the patient is walking and showing neck pain, treat her as having a potential cervical spine injury and start in-line stabilization immediately.

Approaching from the front lets you establish verbal contact and simultaneously control the head and neck in a neutral alignment with your hands. This minimizes movement while you assess airway, breathing, and circulation and begin any needed care. Approaching from the rear would require turning or lifting the patient, which risks moving the neck and could worsen a spinal injury.

Removing the helmet right away is not the best move because taking it off can cause neck movement and may compromise the airway unless there’s an urgent airway need or you’re trained to do helmet removal with spinal precautions. You want to keep stabilization and manage the airway with caution rather than creating more risk. Waiting for additional help before approaching would delay essential stabilization and assessment.

So, the proper approach is to come in from the front and apply manual stabilization of the cervical spine to keep the head, neck, and spine aligned while you continue the primary survey and arrange for immobilization.