Which practices help reduce victim movement and improve extraction outcomes?

• A. Frequent repositioning and aggressive extraction to save time.
• B. Clear commands, immobilization on arrival, minimal handling, and rapid transport to medical care.
• C. Ignoring immobilization to speed up.
• D. Delaying transport to observe changes.

Answer: (B)

Reducing victim movement during extraction is essential to prevent secondary injuries and to improve outcomes by ensuring proper stabilization and rapid access to definitive care. The best practices focus on keeping the patient as stable as possible: give clear commands so the person stays still, immobilize the patient on arrival with spinal precautions, maintain that immobilization throughout the extraction, minimize handling to prevent any jostling or loss of alignment, and transport promptly to medical care with continuous monitoring and support. This approach minimizes the risk of worsening injuries, especially to the spine, while getting the patient to definitive treatment sooner. Frequent repositioning or aggressive pulling can cause additional movement and injury, ignoring immobilization allows dangerous motion, and delaying transport increases the chance of deterioration before care.