BACKGROUND: Several studies have highlighted the problem of @entity615 among helicopter pilots, but few have controlled for potential confounding factors in their analyses, or sought to examine the effects of @entity615 on operational readiness and flying performance. There have been no previous studies of the prevalence of @entity615 among Australian military pilots. METHODS: The prevalence, risk factors, and consequences of low @entity615 were assessed in a cross-sectional survey of 200 Australian military helicopter pilots by self-completion questionnaire. RESULTS: Responses were received from 131 (66%) of available pilots. The overall prevalence of reported @entity615 was 64% (95% CI 56%-72%), with a further 28% of pilots describing back discomfort while flying. More than half the pilots (55%) indicated that @entity615 had interfered with their concentration while flying, with 16% reporting that they had hurried flying missions because of @entity158 . A minority of pilots (7%) had refused to @entity238 because of back problems. After adjusting for age, education, BMI, posture and numbers of hours flown, multiple logistic regression modelling indicated that a prior history of @entity13400 was the most significant predictor of @entity615 among @entity346 (OR 2.63, 95% CI 1.11-6.23). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the prevalence of @entity615 in Australian military helicopter pilots is unacceptably high and may be limiting operational readiness, pilot performance, flying safety, and pilot health. Urgent attention needs to be given to improved ergonomic design in aircraft, and both @entity615 prevention and @entity13400 rehabilitation programs.

Back XXXX in Australian military helicopter pilots: a preliminary study.

@entity615 :: ('MESH:D001416', 'Disease') :: ['back pain'] @entity158 :: ('MESH:D010146', 'Disease') :: ['pain'] @entity346 :: ('MESH:D009759', 'Disease') :: ['rotary wing pilots'] @entity13400 :: ('MESH:D019567', 'Disease') :: ['back injury'] @entity238 :: ('7227', 'Species') :: ['fly']
@entity158 :: (MESH:D010146,Disease) :: ['pain']
