page_title: Helmet removal (sports)
section_title: Face mask removal
hierarchical_section_title: Helmet removal (sports) / Face mask removal
caption_attribution_description: English: Unscrewing face mask loop fastener
context_page_description: In organized athletics, few situations give rise to greater anxiety than the 'downed athlete'.
  Obvious causes include head and neck injury, or both, with no immediate means of excluding neck injury in the athlete who may be unable to give a history.
  Compounding the problem is the potential for the athlete's airway being compromised.
  Such a situation requires effective triage with the possibility of the athlete's injury being worsened or its effects being made permanent, if the initial steps taken are not appropriate.
  Paradoxically, the equipment designed to prevent or mitigate injury, such as helmets, face masks, neck rolls and shoulder pads, contributes to the complexity of the steps needed to be taken.
  Finally, environmental challenges, such as the difficulty of first responders moving on an ice arena, or maneuvering an ambulance through inadequate access routes, will add to the problem if not previously addressed by inspection of facilities and, in the best circumstances, rehearsal.
context_section_description: With agreement on the importance in maintaining cervical spine alignment, and by implication, the most common strategy of leaving the helmet and shoulder pads in place, the immediate task falls into two parts:
  the coordinated, synchronized log roll of an injured athlete who happens to be lying in the face down or prone position;
  removal of the face mask to allow care and protection of the airway.
  Currently, face masks fall into two broad categories, the 'traditional', secured by screws and plastic loops or thin wire ties and a combination of screws and T-nuts, and the 'innovative' using some additional type of proprietary 'quick release' hardware. However, it should be recognized that helmet and face mask design is an area of active development and change.
  
  Whichever, removal customarily involves cutting/releasing the loop straps and various tools have been advocated including cutting tools and cordless screwdrivers.  In some studies, the cordless screwdriver has been shown to be the most efficient and quickest. 
   However, concern has been raised concerning the use of a single technique when helmet fittings have been degraded by poor maintenance.  In those circumstances, a screw seized with rust, or in which the threads have been stripped, may be encountered.  Accordingly, there has been advocacy for a reliable, combined, tool technique such as a cordless screwdriver with backup cutting tool. Moreover, in some innovative designs, a cutting tool is essential.
  In general, 'quick release' face-mask attachments appear to make face-mask removal quicker and cause less unwanted movement of the athlete's head or neck. The opposite is the case in cutting loop straps.
caption: Face mask being unscrewed
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