How is active motion restriction provided to an injured person?

Active motion restriction for an injured person is crucial to prevent further injury, particularly when dealing with potential spinal injuries. Manually holding the person's head helps maintain spinal alignment and stability, ensuring that the neck and spine remain as still as possible. This technique is often used in emergency situations where a formal immobilization device is not immediately available or when quick action is required to prevent movement that could exacerbate an injury.

While other options may offer some level of assistance, they do not provide the same level of targeted motion restriction to the head and neck as physically holding the head does. Floating devices, for instance, are more general in their purpose of keeping a person afloat and do not specifically restrict motion in a precise manner. Securing someone to a lifeguard buoy or utilizing another rescuer might aid in overall stabilization, but they lack the direct, active control over head and neck movement that manual holding offers.