title: Physiological factors in stretcher carriage performance.
abstract: In this study we examined the anthropometric and physiological factors that may account for the ability to carry a casualty on a stretcher. Eleven young soldiers were pretested to obtain their anthropometry, body composition, physical fitness, and muscle cross-sectional areas. They then performed a two-person manual carry of a stretcher containing an 82-kg manikin while walking on a treadmill at a speed of 4.8 km/h. Subjects walked until volitional fatigue, as indicated by slippage of the stretcher from their hands. Average (SD) carriage time was 2.7(1.4) min with a range of 1.4-6.4 min. A stepwise multiple linear regression revealed that forearm bone-plus-muscle cross-sectional area, thigh muscle cross-sectional area, and push-up performance accounted for most of the variance in hand carriage time (r2 = 0.99, P < 0.001). These data suggest that muscle cross-sectional area and upper-body muscular endurance are important physiological factors in the ability to carry a loaded stretcher by hand.
authors: U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010, USA.
authors: J J
authors: JJ
authors: Knapik
authors: W
authors: W
authors: Harper
authors: H P
authors: HP
authors: Crowell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001823:Body Composition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D010807:Physical Endurance; D010809:Physical Fitness; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014187:Transportation of Patients; D016474:Weight-Bearing