log rolling

log rolling

 

a method of turning patients following neurosurgical procedures when the spine must be maintained in alignment. Two persons use a sheet to turn the patient as a unit; if the patient is unable to support the head, a third person is necessary.

Log rolling a patient as a unit. Redrawn from Bolander, 1994.

A technique for turning a patient whose body must be kept axially aligned—e.g., with spinal injury—in which their extremities are held close to their sides and they are rolled like a log