Neck Pain Experienced By Air Force Pilots

By |March 9, 2011|Air Force Pilots, Legislation, Neck Pain, News|

Neck Pain Experienced By Air Force Pilots

The Chiro.Org Blog


SOURCE:   Military Medicine 2011 (Jan); 176 (1): 106–109


Netto K, Hampson G, Oppermann B, Carstairs G, Aisbett B.

School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences,
Deakin University,
221 Burwood Highway,
Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia


This article is of particular interest because the Department of Defense was instructed during the Clinton Administration to start providing chiropractic care through the Department of Veterans Affairs to American servicemen, and even after all these years, chiropractic care is only available at 36 VA facilities across the country. This still leaves (at least) 100 major VA medical facilities without a chiropractic physician on staff. [1]

In this study, therapists at the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences in Victoria, Australia designed an 18-question survey to determine type and effectiveness of various strategies used by Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fast jet aircrew in self-referral and management of flight-related neck pain. [2]

They provided this questionnaire to 86 eligible RAAF aircrew to determine aircrew demographics, the incidence of flight-related neck pain, and their self-referral strategies to manage these neck complaints. The results are quite dramatic: (more…)