title: Individual, work-, and flight-related issues in F-16 pilots reporting neck pain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Neck pain is a common problem in F-16 pilots. A cross-sectional survey was used to determine the self-reported 1-yr prevalence of neck pain and to compare individual, work-related, and flight-related characteristics in F-16 pilots with and without neck pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  There were 90 male F-16 pilots of the Belgian Air Force and The Royal Netherlands Air Force who voluntarily completed an anonymous survey.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 1-yr prevalence of neck pain was 18.9%. Pilots were divided into two groups: healthy (HG) and neck pain group (NPG). This study could not identify individual or specific flight-related differences between these two groups. High force demands, often sitting for a long time, frequently holding the neck in a forward bent posture, and being physically tired were all physical work-related factors that were reported significantly more often in the NPG. The NPG also reported significantly more psychosocial factors, such as being mentally tired at the end of the day and being annoyed by others at the workplace.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Since the specific flight-related factors were not significantly different between the HG and the NPG, physical and psychosocial factors could have been important factors in the development or maintenance of neck pain in F-16 pilots.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study highlight for the first time that, in addition to flight-related issues, other aspects must be considered in analyzing neck pain. These other aspects stress the importance of a broader approach when considering neck pain, even in this population that is exposed to very high loads during flight.
authors: Belgian Defense, Medical Component, Military Hospital of Base Queen Astrid, Brussels, Belgium.
authors: Veerle
authors: V
authors: De Loose
authors: Marieke
authors: M
authors: Van den Oord
authors: Frédéric
authors: F
authors: Burnotte
authors: Damien
authors: D
authors: Van Tiggelen
authors: Veerle
authors: V
authors: Stevens
authors: Barbara
authors: B
authors: Cagnie
authors: Erik
authors: E
authors: Witvrouw
authors: Lieven
authors: L
authors: Danneels
mesh_terms: D000401:Aircraft; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires