Thursday, February 24, 2011
Medical studies performed by the U.S. Army and Marines Corps have found troops are carrying excessive amounts of weight on their bodies, due to body armor and other equipment, resulting in increasing numbers of neck, spine and other serious injuries.
Soldiers are supposed to be carrying no more than 50 pounds on their bodies, according to a 2001 assessment by the Army. But a recent three-month examination conducted in Afghanistan revealed that troops on foot patrols were humping loads ranging from 87-127 pounds.
Similarly, a 2007 study by the U.S. Navy found Marines typically had loads weighing 97-135 pounds.
The extra weight has produced “an avalanche of musculoskeletal injuries” among America’s fighting force. A study by Johns Hopkins University discovered that nearly one-third of all medical evacuations from Iraq and Afghanistan from 2004 through 2007 were caused by musculoskeletal, connective-tissue or spinal injuries. These injured soldiers outnumbered combat wounded 2-to-1.
Army statistics show the number of soldiers forced to retire with at least one musculoskeletal condition increased nearly 10-fold from 2003 to 2009.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Weight of War: Gear That Protects Troops Also Injures Them (by Hal Bernton, Seattle Times)
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