Neck muscle activation and head postures in common high performance aerial combat maneuvers.

Full Abstract

INTRODUCTION:
Neck injuries are common in high performance combat pilots and have been attributed to high gravitational forces and the non-neutral head postures adopted during aerial combat maneuvers. There is still little known about the pathomechanics of these injuries.

METHODS:
Six Royal Australian Air Force Hawk pilots flew a sortie that included combinations of three +Gz levels (1, 3, and 5) and four head postures (Neutral, Turn, Extension, and Check-6). Surface electromyography from neck and shoulder muscles was recorded in flight. Three-dimensional measures of head postures adopted in flight were estimated postflight with respect to end-range of the cervical spine using an electromagnetic tracking device.

RESULTS:
Mean muscle activation increased significantly with both increasing +Gz and non-neutral head postures. Check-6 at +5 Gz (mean activation of all muscles = 51% MVIC) elicited significantly greater muscle activation in most muscles when compared with Neutral, Extension, and Turn head postures. High levels of muscle co-contraction were evident in high acceleration and non-neutral head postures. Head kinematics showed Check-6 was closest to end-range in any movement plane (86% ROM in rotation) and produced the greatest magnitude of rotation in other planes. Turn and Extension showed a large magnitude of rotation with reference to end-range in the primary plane of motion but displayed smaller rotations in other planes.

DISCUSSION:
High levels of neck muscle activation and co-contraction due to high +Gz and head postures close to end range were evident in this study, suggesting the major influence of these factors on the pathomechanics of neck injuries in high performance combat pilots.

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Author information

Author/s: Netto, Kevin J (KJ); Burnett, Angus F (AF);

Affiliation: School of Science and Primary Industries, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. kevin.netto(-atsign-)cdu.edu.au

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Aviation, space, and environmental medicine (Aviat Space Environ Med), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Oct; vol 77 (issue 10) : pp 1049-55

Dates: Created 2006/10/17; Completed 2006/12/28;

PMID: 17042250, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Aviation
Electromyography
Gravitation
Head - physiology

Humans
Muscle, Skeletal - physiology
Neck - physiology
Posture
Task Performance and Analysis

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