Fast-roping injuries among Army Rangers: a retrospective survey of an elite airborne battalion.
Fast-roping is a modified rappelling technique used by civilian and military special operations forces that frequently produces injuries. Highly classified until recently, fast-roping is poorly understood from a medical perspective. This paper presents a brief description of fast-roping and a retrospective survey of the types of fast-roping injuries sustained in a U.S. Army Ranger battalion. Injuries are similar to parachute landing fall injuries, but show a greater propensity for ankle injuries (30% of all injuries). The mechanisms of injury include landing injuries after a controlled descent and falls from a great height when an individual loses control of the rope.
Kragh
J F
JF
Department of Surgery, Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon, GA 30905, USA.
Taylor
D C
DC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000401:Aircraft; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008887:Military Medicine; D008889:Military Personnel; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*