Head-tilt/chin-lift maneuver

To relieve upper airway obstruction, the clinician uses two hands to extend the patient's neck. While one hand applies downward pressure to the patient's forehead, the tips of the index and middle fingers of the second hand lift the mandible at the chin, which lifts the tongue from the posterior pharynx. The head-tilt/chin-lift maneuver may be used in any patient in whom cervical spine injury is NOT a concern.