Citation

Coşkun Beyan A, Demiral Y, Dilek B, Alici NŞ, Bediz C, Çimrin A. Int. J. Occup. Med. Environ. Health 2018; 31(2): 243-249.

Affiliation

Dokuz Eylul University, İzmir, Turkey (Occupational Medicine Department). acimrin@deu.edu.tr.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodz and the Polish Association of Occupational Medicine, Publisher Walter de Gruyter)

DOI

10.13075/ijomeh.1896.01032

PMID

29035401

Abstract

The skydiving/parachuting sport which has recently gained popularity is also known for its accidents and injuries. However, there are a few studies related to its occupational ergonomic risks and occupational musculoskeletal diseases. It has been reported that the sudden hyperextension of the neck during the parachute opening, so called opening shock results in neck pain. It has been found that the jumpers are subjected to an average deceleration of 3-5 times the earth's gravitational acceleration (3-5 G) during parachute opening shock. It is considered that the spinal cord is destabilized by the impact of this force. This study presents the occupational cervical disc herniation occurring in the case of a subject who has been working as a skydiving/parachuting instructor for 25 years, and the ergonomic risks specific to the sports of skydiving. There is a requirement for systematic and representative studies related to the administrative measures to be taken in order to prevent the occupational diseases that may occur in the case of skydivers, the personal protective equipment to be used, and the employee. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2018;31(2).

This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

Language: en

Keywords

disc hernia; ergonomics; opening shock; parachuting; skydiving; work-related disorders