Wilderness Medical Society snowmass 2005 Page 191
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In the wilderness, full spinal immobilization may pose unnecessary hardship and
danger to patients and rescuers. Therefore, seek a balance between the difficulties and
dangers of evacuating an immobilized patient on one hand and not immobilizing a spinal
injury on the other. In certain hazardous situations, it may be safer for the patient and
rescuers to forego spinal immobilization, or to use only partial spinal immobilization
such as a cervical collar alone, to evacuate more easily and rapidly from the area of
immediate danger.
