MILITARY HEALTH MATTERS
By Sharon Adams
Heavy lifting takes its toll
A CH-146 Griffon helicopter is loaded into a CC-177 Globemaster aircraft at CFB Trenton, Ont.
12
uick—what is the major reason given for a member of the Canadian Armed Forces not to deploy? Did you guess musculoskeletal injury? A third of personnel unable to deploy are laid up because they’ve sprained an ankle or have injured their back or knees or have some other MSK (musculoskeletal) complaint. The CAF reports MSKs are the main medical cause of restricted duties and sick days. But it’s a long-term problem too: between 43 and 66 per cent of medical releases are due to permanent physical limitations from this type of injury, and it is estimated just over half of benefits paid (some $158 million annually) under the New Veterans Charter are for MSK injury. A U.S. study shows military personnel are much more likely than civilian workers to experience a sprained ankle. One Canadian Forces Base estimated sprained ankles alone cost $1.2 million in lost productivity in merely eight months. There are weighty demands on the military—loading and unloading heavy cargo from trucks, aircraft and ships, going on
MARCH/APRIL 2017 > legionmagazine.com
Pg12-13_Health.indd 12
patrol with a pack that can weigh 45 kilograms, supporting a heavy helmet while piloting an aircraft. Keeping in shape to be able to do that heavy lifting also takes a toll: sports and physical training account for more than half of these injuries. Canada isn’t alone—in the past 15 years MSK injuries have spiked for all NATO armies as the tempo of operations has increased. So military researchers around the world are looking for ways to minimize the strain, how to prepare the body so it is up to the task, and the best way to rehabilitate and treat such injuries. Oddly, though grunt work has always been a feature of military service, researchers are still searching for best practices in training to prevent such injuries and how best to treat them. And international comparisons and sharing of information must surely help. For instance, why have 81 per cent of Canadian helicopter crews reported neck pain, compared to less than
Corporal Ken Beliwicz, 8 Wing Imaging/DND
2017-01-26 4:04 PM
