Jaw-thrust maneuver

The jaw-thrust maneuver is used to relieve upper airway obstruction by moving the tongue anteriorly with the mandible, minimizing the tongue's ability to obstruct the airway. With the patient supine and the clinician standing at the head of the bed, the technique is performed by placing the heels of both hands on the parieto-occipital areas on each side of the patient's head, then grasping the angles of the mandible with the index and long fingers, and displacing the jaw anteriorly. The jaw-thrust maneuver may be used in the patient in whom cervical spine injury is a concern.