title: Cervical and lumbar pain and radiological degeneration among fighter pilots: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: To assess the associations of acceleration force indicators (aircraft type and flight hours) with cervical and lumbar pain and radiological degeneration among fighter pilots. The PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science databases were searched until October 2013. Twenty-seven studies were included in the review and 20 in the meta-analysis. There were no differences in the prevalence of neck pain (pooled OR=1.07, 95% CI 0.87 to 1.33), cervical disc degeneration (OR=1.26, CI 0.81 to 1.96), low back pain (OR=0.80, CI 0.47 to 1.38) or lumbar disc degeneration (OR=0.87, CI 0.67 to 1.13) between fighter pilots and helicopter or transport/cargo pilots. Moreover, the prevalence of cervical (OR=1.14, CI 0.61 to 2.16) or lumbar (OR=1.05, CI 0.49 to 2.26) disc degeneration did not differ between fighter pilots and non-flying personnel. Most studies did not control their estimates for age and other potential confounders. Among high-performance aircraft pilots, exposure to the highest G-forces was associated with a higher prevalence of neck pain compared with exposure to lower G-forces (pooled OR=3.12, CI 2.08 to 4.67). The studies on the association between flight hours and neck pain reported inconsistent findings. Moreover, looking back over the shoulder (check six) was the most common posture associated with neck pain. Fighter pilots exposed to high G-forces may be at a greater risk for neck pain than those exposed to low G-forces. This finding should be confirmed with better control for confounding. Awkward neck posture may be an important factor in neck pain among fighter pilots.
authors.affiliation: Disability Prevention Centre, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Rahman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shiri
authors.affiliation: Disability Prevention Centre, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland Occupational Medicine Team, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Heikki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Frilander
authors.affiliation: Disability Prevention Centre, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland Mental Health and Cognition Team, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Markku
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sainio
authors.affiliation: Disability Prevention Centre, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland Occupational Medicine Team, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Kirsi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Karvala
authors.affiliation: Centre for Military Medicine, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Roope
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sovelius
authors.affiliation: Disability Prevention Centre, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Tapio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vehmas
authors.affiliation: Disability Prevention Centre, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Eira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Viikari-Juntura
mesh_terms: D000054:Acceleration; D000401:Aircraft; D006801:Humans; D007403:Intervertebral Disc; D055959:Intervertebral Disc Degeneration / Q000209:etiology*; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D008161:Lumbosacral Region; D008889:Military Personnel; D009333:Neck; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D009790:Occupations