A cross-sectional analysis of the muscle strength, spinal shrinkage, and recovery during a working day of military police officers

Hoflinger, Francielle; Rodacki, André Luiz Felix; Tavares, Janny M; Fadel Neto, Milton I; Paulo, Anderson C; Fowler, Neil E; Rodacki, Cintia L N

Abstract

Objective: Military personnel has a large prevalence of back pain, especially those involved in patrolling routines, as they wear heavy protective equipment. Patrolling includes long periods of sustaining the protective equipment in a sitting or in a motor vehicle (motorcycle or car). Thus, understanding spinal loading of military police officers after patrolling by car (CAR; n = 14), motorcycle (MOT; n = 14), and administrative (ADM; n = 14) routines is relevant to establish preventive strategies. Methods: The torque of the trunk and working and anthropometric characteristics were assessed to explain spinal loading using stature variation measures. Precise stature measures were performed before and after a 6 h journey (LOSS) and 20 min after a resting posture (RECOV). The trunk extensor (PTE BM−1) and flexor (PTF BM−1) muscles’ isometric peak torque were measured before the working journey. Results: The LOSS was similar between CAR and MOT (4.8 and 5.8 mm, respectively) after 6 h of patrolling. The ADM presented the lowest LOSS (2.8 mm; P < .05). No changes in RECOV between groups were observed (P > .05). Vibration may explain the greater spinal loading involved in patrolling in comparison to the ADM. A GLM analysis revealed that BMI was the only explanatory factor for stature loss. No independent variables explained RECOV. The ability of the trunk muscles to produce force did not influence LOSS or RECOV. Conclusions: Military police officers involved in patrolling may require greater post-work periods and strategies designed to reduce the weight of the protective apparatus to dissipate spinal loading. The external load used in patrolling is a relevant spinal loading factor.

Citation

Hoflinger, F., Rodacki, A. L. F., Tavares, J. M., Fadel Neto, M. I., Paulo, A. C., Fowler, N. E., & Rodacki, C. L. N. (2021). A cross-sectional analysis of the muscle strength, spinal shrinkage, and recovery during a working day of military police officers. Journal of occupational health, 63(1), e12297. https://doi.org/10.1002/1348-9585.12297

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 6, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Dec 24, 2021
• Publication Date: Dec 24, 2021
• Deposit Date: Jan 6, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 6, 2022
• Journal: Journal of Occupational Health
• Print ISSN: 1341-9145
• Electronic ISSN: 1348-9585
• Publisher: Wiley Open Access
• Volume: 63
• Issue: 1
• Pages: e12297
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/1348-9585.12297
• Keywords: workload, spinal shrinkage, low back pain
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/1348-9585.12297
• Related Public URLs: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13489585
• Additional Information: Additional Information : ** Article version: VoR ** From Wiley via Jisc Publications Router ** Licence for VoR version of this article: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ **Journal IDs: issn 1348-9585 **Article IDs: publisher-id: joh212297 **History: published 24-12-2021; accepted 06-11-2021; rev-recd 20-10-2021; submitted 25-08-2021; published 01-2021