The recovery position is a standard first-aid technique used to protect the airway of a person who is unconscious but still breathing normally. This specific lateral posture ensures the individual can breathe freely while waiting for emergency medical services to arrive. It is designed to prevent the most common causes of death in an unconscious person. The position stabilizes the patient and minimizes the risk of secondary complications until professional help can take over.
The Core Function: Maintaining a Clear Airway
The purpose of the recovery position is to maintain an unobstructed airway, which is put at risk when a person is unconscious. When an individual loses consciousness, their muscles relax entirely, including the tongue. If the person is lying on their back, this relaxed tongue can fall backward and block the throat, preventing air from reaching the lungs.
Placing the person on their side uses gravity to pull the tongue forward, away from the back of the pharynx, keeping the airway open. This positioning addresses the risk of aspiration, which occurs when stomach contents or other fluids are inhaled into the lungs. Since the muscles controlling the sphincter at the top of the stomach relax when unconscious, passive regurgitation can occur.
The side-lying posture ensures that fluids, such as vomit, saliva, or blood, will drain out of the mouth and away from the windpipe. This drainage significantly reduces the risk of aspiration pneumonia or suffocation. By maintaining a clear path for air, the recovery position stabilizes the person’s breathing until advanced medical care is available.
Critical Indicators for Using the Position
The recovery position is only appropriate for an individual who is unconscious and breathing normally. Assessment must confirm a lack of responsiveness, such as when the person does not respond to tapping or shouting, alongside the presence of regular breathing. If the person is unconscious but not breathing, or is breathing abnormally, the priority shifts immediately to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and the recovery position should not be used.
Assess the scene and the patient for signs of trauma, particularly to the head, neck, or spine. If a spinal or neck injury is suspected, moving the person can cause further harm and should be avoided unless necessary to clear the airway. In such cases, the person should only be rolled enough to allow fluids to drain, taking great care to stabilize the head and neck in alignment with the body. Maintain the person in this stable position and continuously monitor their breathing until help arrives.
Safe, Step-by-Step Placement
To place an adult into the recovery position, kneel beside them and ensure both legs are straight. Take the arm nearest to you and extend it out at a right angle to the body, with the elbow bent and the palm facing upward. This placement provides a stable base when the person is rolled onto their side.
Next, take the arm farthest from you and bring it across the person’s chest, placing the back of their hand against the cheek nearest to you. Hold this hand gently, as it supports the head during the roll. With your other hand, grasp the leg farthest from you just above the knee and bend it, keeping the foot flat on the ground.
Use the bent knee as a lever, pulling it toward you while keeping the hand pressed against the cheek to support the head and neck. Roll the person gently toward you onto their side. Once on their side, adjust the upper leg so the hip and knee are bent at right angles, which stabilizes the person and prevents them from rolling onto their stomach or back.
The head should be tilted slightly back to ensure the airway remains open, and the mouth should be angled downward to allow fluids to drain. This adjustment, coupled with the hand cushioning the head, maintains the open airway. The person’s breathing should be checked immediately after placement and continuously monitored until emergency services arrive.