Incidence of Cervical and Lumbar Spine Injuries in Brazilian Air Force Helicopter Pilots
Incidence of Cervical and Lumbar Spine Injuries in Brazilian Air Force Helicopter Pilots
Incidence of Cervical and Lumbar Spine Injuries in Brazilian Air Force Helicopter Pilots
AUTHORS
Agatha A.M. Faria ¹; Délio T. M.Malaquias ¹; Juliana Paschoal ¹; Guilherme I. Santos ¹; Thalita P. M.
Alineri ¹; Isabelle P. Santos ¹; Ana Clara P. R. De Souza¹; Maria Clara G. Costa ¹; Ana Carolina R.V.
Rodrigues ²; Giovana C. Bitolo ²; Christopher A.P. Lima ²; Thiago G.Trigueiro ³; Hiromi M. K. Fujishima
³; Liliana M. Occulate ⁴; Hamilton R. M. O. Carriço ⁵; Lucas V. de Melo ¹; Isabela M.M.da Cunha¹; Giovana
R. Victorello ¹; Leonardo T. Da Silva ¹; Victória B. S. Miguel ¹; Jenyffer V. C. Villca ¹; Bruna D. Araujo ¹;
Maria Gabriela S. Guzzi ¹; Camila S. da Costa ¹; Guilherme G. Martins ¹; Jade P.Torres ¹; Daniela S.B. L.
Dos Santos ¹; Brenda M. M. R. de Oliveira ¹; Isabela F. Krebs ¹; Talita R.Q. Lopes ¹; Maria P. M. Nogueira
¹; Júlio E. Calheiros ¹; Elysa F.Camargo ¹; Isabeli G.de Oliveira ¹; Natália L. Medici ¹; Samantha R.G.
Sanches ¹; Adriana F.Viana Delgado ¹; Thiago A. R. Bezerra ¹-⁶; Leonardo Mendes Faria ⁷.
Affiliations
Abstract
This paper is a brief analysis of the incidence of pain and discomfort caused by flying
rotary-wing aircraft. This is due to the excessive vibration exerted by the rotors on the
pilot's seat, which is absorbed by the pilot's spine, and the posture adopted by the pilot
during the flight due to the layout of the controls. Air forces from various countries such
as Israel, Sweden, England, among others, have considered low back pain to be a primary
health problem in airmen and admit that this type of problem is detrimental to flight
safety, given that the pain acts throughout the flight and can appear at a level that distracts
the pilot. The aim of this study was to clarify the incidence of pain and discomfort among
rotary-wing pilots in the Brazilian Air Force. To help carry out the study, an online
questionnaire with multiple-choice, scale and full answer questions was used, answered
by 124 aviation officers belonging to the Brazilian Air Force. Corroborating previous
research in this area, we identified that the main discomforts are related to the position
of piloting the aircraft, mainly located in the region of the spine. Most of this discomfort
lasts from a few minutes to a few hours. The main preventative methods used by
helicopter pilots are related to strength training. Thus, we can infer the awareness of
pilots and authorities of the importance of physical exercise, thus inferring an important
preventive measure.
The incidence of pain and discomfort in people can be a risk to their health and to
their professional activities.
According to a study by Wosiack (2002), around 80% of the world's population
suffers from spinal pain.
In addition to the elderly, research also reports an increase in complaints among active
workers (DA SILVA, 2009).
According to Strauss (2005), maintaining a good state of health for pilots is related to
physical conditioning compatible with the demands of their activity, duration and quality
of flight, contributing to favorable conditions for increasing resistance to flight fatigue.
FIGURE 1 shows some of the most frequent disorders related to military pilots.
Gz force
The effects of acceleration forces on the body are caused by rapid changes in
speed and direction of movement in airplanes and often affect the body during flight
(GUYTON, 2002).
Each time the plane makes a turn, the centrifugal force is determined by the
following relationship:
Where F is the centrifugal acceleration force, m is the mass of the object, v is the
speed of travel and r is the radius of curvature. The force is inversely proportional to the
closure of the curve; the smaller the radius, the greater the centrifugal force. FIGURE 2
shows the Gz force vectors that can enter the pilot's body during a military flight.
FIGURE 4 shows the most common areas of spinal injury in helicopter pilots.
This work is justified by the importance that several countries have given
to the study and research of this type of dysfunction, given that these problems
can affect operability and also generate costs in terms of medical treatment. In
addition, the high rate of absences and injuries can generate costs related to the
replacement of personnel, and in the case of injuries, it can even have a very
negative influence on flight safety, due to the detour of attention caused by the
pain that the pilot feels during the operation. The aim of this study is to
demonstrate the importance of injury prevention in PH. This information can be
useful in minimizing the rate of absences, thus contributing to society, which
includes the Brazilian Air Force. The aim of this study was therefore to analyze
the incidence of pain and discomfort related to helicopter flying in pilots of the
Brazilian Air Force.
METHODOLOGICAL PROCEDURES
This descriptive study was carried out using a quantitative approach and
qualitative data to support the discussions. The data collection instrument used
was a questionnaire applied to 124 officers of both sexes belonging to the
Brazilian Air Force in 2023.
This questionnaire was made up of closed and open questions covering -
the duration of pain after a helicopter flight, the intensity of this pain, the region
of the body most affected, the use of night vision goggles and the main forms of
prevention and treatment of this pain.
The questionnaires were administered using the "Google Docs"
application with multiple choice answers, a scale of zero to ten (zero = no pain,
ten = very intense pain) and an image to associate with the location of the pain.
As a prerequisite to guarantee the study's purposes, only Helicopter Pilots (HP)
with a minimum of six months in this specialty answered the questionnaire. The
research was carried out in accordance with the criteria of Resolution 196/96 of
the National Health Council/MS, of 10/10/1996.
RESULTS
The first question asked whether pilots felt back pain after flying.
Graph 1 shows that 84 pilots (68%) experience back pain after flying, confirming
our first hypothesis. The second question concerned how long the pain lasted. The
subjects had four options: a few minutes, a few hours, a few days and no pain.
In Graph 2 we can see that 36 PHs marked the option "I don't feel pain",
while the answer "a few days" was selected by 14 PHs, 39 PHs marked "a
few hours" and 35 pilots chose the option "a few minutes". The third question was
designed to investigate the intensity of the pain. The answer was based on a scale
of zero to ten, where zero meant that the pilot felt no pain and ten meant that the
pain was extremely intense.
According to Graph 03, we can see that the intensity of the pain was diagnosed
in a large proportion up to grade 3 (77%) on a scale of 0-10. We can therefore infer that
these discomforts may, despite being minimal, pose significant risks to helicopter
piloting. The survey also provided the opportunity to check the location of the pain
(Graph 3).
An image of the human body divided into various numbered regions (Figure 05)
was used as an aid to answering. Of all the subjects analyzed, 28 pilots didn't answer the
question and another six said they didn't feel pain. It is worth noting that some pilots
reported feeling pain in more than one region.
The fifth question asked about the use of night vision goggles (NVG). The
NVG is a piece of equipment widely used in aviation which allows pilots to see
better in the absence of light. It amplifies brightness by up to 50,000 times and,
together with the light emitted by the moon and stars, enables night flying, which
is poor in visual references.
Of the 124 PHs in this survey, two did not answer this question. We saw
that 53 pilots (43%) have used this equipment frequently, while 69 pilots (56%)
do not use it frequently. Of the pilots who have used this equipment, 21 subjects
said they felt pain in the cervical region after flying.
Question six aimed to analyze whether the pilots resorted to some kind of
treatment to ease the pain caused by flying and which treatments were most
commonly used. From the results, we can see that most pilots do not use any
treatment for pain (n=79). Among the treatments that are carried out, the most
popular is physiotherapy (n=18) followed by pilates (n=10), weight training (n=7),
stretching (n=6) and swimming (n=4). There were also answers with "other
alternatives" made up of the following: massage therapy (n=1), osteopathy (n=1),
chiropractic (n=3), medication (1 pilot), various physical activities (n=3), yoga
(n=1). Eight subjects did not answer this question. It's important to note that some
subjects said they underwent more than one type of treatment.
DISCUSSION
CONCLUSION
From the questionnaire, we can draw some conclusions about the effects of
rotary-wing aviation on pilots' spines. Finally, it can be concluded that pain in the
cervical and lumbar spine has been a constant in the lives of pilots and it is a fact that
it can hinder their performance in air missions.
Therefore, it is of great value for the Brazilian Air Force, as well as for all
other institutions that have HFs, to offer their airmen adequate conditions for
prevention and treatment which, as diagnosed in this study, can be through strength
training (weight training). The possibility of having physiotherapists who work with
Global Postural Re-education (GPR) in Military Organizations (OM), or a
professional trained to teach Pilates classes, or even a physical education professional
who draws up a workout and accompanies the aviation officers during weight training
activities in a well-structured gym within the Military Organizations, are low-cost
and highly effective alternatives, thus making a difference to the pilots' quality of life
and operational routine.
REFERENCES
BRIDGER, R.S; GROOM, M.R; JONES, H. Task and postural factors are related to
back pain in helicopter pilots. Aviation Space Environment Medicine, [S.I.] v.73,
n.8, p. 805-811, aug. 2002.
CARPENTER, D.M., GRAVES, J.E., POLLOCK, M.L., LEGGETT, S.H.,
FOSTER, D., HOLMES, B. and FULTON, M.N. Effect of 12 and 20 weeks of
resistance training on lumbar extension torque production. Physical therapy, v.71,
p.580-588, 1991.
DA SILVA, G.V. Proposta de programa específico para a redução da lombalgia em
pilotos de helicóptero. 2003. 275 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Ciência da Motricidade
Humana) - Universidade Castelo Branco, Rio de Janeiro, 2004.
DREYER, S.J.; DREYFUSS, P.H. Low back pain and the zigapophysial (facet) joints.
Arch phys med rehabil, v.77, p.290-300, 1996.
FEJER, R.; KYVIK, K.O.; HARTVIGSEN, J. The prevalence of neck pain in the
world population: a systematical critical review of the literature. European Spine
Journal, [S.l.], n.15, p. 834-848, 2006.
FRITZ, J.M. et al., Segmental Instabilizing of the Lumbar Spine. Physical therapy,
v.78, p.889-896, 1998. FROOM, P.; BARZILAY, J.; CAINE, Y.; MARGALIOT,
S.; FORECAST, D.; GROSS, M. Low back pain in pilots.Aviation, space and
environmental medicine, v.57, p.694-695, 1986
HANSEN, ø.B.; WAGSTAFF, A.S. low back pain in norwegian helicopter aircrew.
Aviation, space and environmental medicine, v.72, p.161-164, 2001.
IVERSEN, M.D. Rehabilitation: Endurance training offsets chronic low back pain.
Biomechanics. Ago. 2000. Disponível em: <http://www.biomech.com/>. Acesso em:
19 de set. 2000.
KENDALL, F.P. Músculos, provas e funções. 3a ed. São Paulo: Manole, 1990.
SHEARD, S.C. et al. Back pain in aircrew – an inicial survey. Aviation, space and
envitomental medicine, v.67, p.474 – 477, 1996.
SIMPSON, P.A. Flight related musculoskeletal pain and discomfort in general aviation
from United Kingdom and Ireland. Aviation, space and environmental medicine.
v.74, n. 1, p. 1-17, 2003.