Heads Up, Don't Duck Program for Decreasing the Risk for Cervical Spine Injury

摘要

The incidence of paralyzing cervical spine injuries in ice hockey players can be greatly decreased by teaching players to keep their heads up, especially when they contact the boards. This simple maneuver can be very effective in helping to decrease the risk of catastrophic cervical spine fractures and possible quadriplegia. To address this issue, the Heads Up, Don't Duck (HUDD) Program was launched in December 1995, just six weeks after Travis Roy sustained a paralyzing cervical spine injury while playing in his first college game. The program includes drills that train players to keep their heads up, especially when near the boards, and the placement of "Heads Up, Don't Duck" posters and decals in and around hockey rinks and dressing rooms to reinforce the HUDD message. In addition, HUDD brochures are distributed to parents, players, and coaches, and there is a USA Hockey Heads Up, Don't Duck video that is designed to be viewed by players at the beginning of each season in order to promote safety and prevent injury. At present, there is no protective equipment that can help to decrease the risk for axial compression cervical spine injuries; active prevention is the best approach to decreasing the risk of these injuries. By regularly devoting a few minutes of designated practice time to HUDD drills, players can learn to adopt a head-up posture. This form of active prevention can decrease player exposure to axial compression cervical spine injury and reduce the overall risk of these injuries occurring.