The effect of spinal immobilization on healthy volunteers.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To determine the effects of standard spinal immobilization on a group of healthy volunteers with respect to induced pain and discomfort. DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING University teaching hospital. TYPE OF PARTICIPANTS Twenty-one healthy volunteers with no history of back disease. INTERVENTIONS Subjects were placed in standard backboard immobilization for a 30-minute period. Number and severity of immediate and delayed symptoms were determined. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS One hundred percent of subjects developed pain within the immediate observation period. Occipital headache and sacral, lumbar, and mandibular pain were the most frequent symptoms. Fifty-five percent of subjects graded their symptoms as moderate to severe. Twenty-nine percent of subjects developed additional symptoms over the next 48 hours. CONCLUSION Standard spinal immobilization may be a cause of pain in an otherwise healthy subject.