Effects of Flight-Exposure and Age on Cervical and Trunk Musculoskeletal Characteristics in Army Helicopter Pilots

Due to flight-exposure and age, cervical and trunk musculoskeletal characteristics of military helicopter pilots may gradually deteriorate, increasing the risk of neck pain/low back pain. The purpose of this study was to compare cervical and trunk strength, flexibility, and posture among groups of pilots based on flight-exposure (total flight-hours) and age. A total of 115 male helicopter pilots participated in laboratory testing and were divided into five exposure-groups (EXP): EXP 1(0 – 999 hours, N=61), EXP 2 (1000 – 1999 hours, N=22), EXP 3 (2000 – 2999 hours, N=17), EXP 4 (3000 – 3999 hours, N=8), and EXP 5 (4000+hours, N=7). For age-related analyses, the same participants were divided into five age-groups (AGE): AGE 1 (20 – 24 years, N=10), AGE 2 (25 – 29 years, N=38), AGE 3 (30 – 34 years, N=26), AGE 4 (35 – 39 years, N=22), and AGE 5 (40+years, N=19). Laboratory testing included cervical and trunk muscular strength, cervical/lumbar spine range-of-motion (ROM), and posture. One-way analysis of variance or Kruskal-Wallis tests with post-hoc analyses were used to compare groups (p