Helicopter Back Pain and Injury

[rhealing]

Please check out www.DoDhelicopterseatsurvey.com (http://www.DoDhelicopterseatsurvey.com) if you are a current or former US military helicopter crewmember. The anonymous survey is available online for the month of April. It seeks information about your experience with back, neck and leg pain that may be related to helicopter service. The survey has been approved by the Office of the Secretary of Defense; and the results of the survey will be presented in a business case supporting serious changes to seat design, without compromise to crash force attenuation. Statistics indicate the military helo crew suffer back pain and injury, often career ending surgery, at a rate as much as four times greater than the general population. With your help, we can build a strong case to eliminate the problem for future helo pilots and crews,

[Yozzer]

It is a pity that this is not also being done in the UK. Physiotherapy at UK SH stations is an expanding trade and much was apportioned to NVG when similar research was conducted a few years ago. The system did not like what was incoming and the research was terminated.

Mk 4 helmets do not reduce rotary noise to levels that are acceptable unless used in addition to (yellow) sponge ear defenders.

Having IRJ in your line of vision can contribute to cataracts in later life.

Seats that stop bullets but destroy any hope of posture can break the best of them.

.....and does a Puma crewman have a crash seat at all yet?

[Wiley]

Ex-helicopter crew and a bad back? I thought that was a given. I would have put the children of at least three physiotherapists through private schooling and university and quite possibly paid for their weddings as well.

[rotor queen]

They've been trying for ages to bring in a pre-hab (as opposed to re-hab) course at Shawbury to help military rotary crews cope with the physical strain imposed when flying helicopters. Like everyone's said, it's been known for years the amount of increased back and neck pain experienced by helicopter crews, with study after study done, and so far (in the UK at least) not a thing done about it.
In the current climate there's no way the seat / controls ergonomics will be changed, but we could at least educate the crews and train them to strengthen key areas in order to keep strain to a minimum.

[Cornish Jack]

Don't see the problem.:E We had this sorted on Whirlwinds with the introduction of those 'bead' cushions - like 'Tracey and Nige' used to fit in their 'motors':mad: Somebody, somewhere MUST have thought they were a 'good idea':ugh: