Background:
Although the most common injury mechanism for pectoralis major (PM) tears is an eccentric loading mechanism typically caused by bench pressing, within the military, there is a unique ...injury mechanism associated with airborne operations. The results of operative repair for these parachute-induced PM tears have not been previously reported.
Purpose/Hypothesis:
To assess the functional outcomes in military servicemembers undergoing operative repair of parachute-induced PM tears. We hypothesized that functional recovery would be impaired with delayed surgical intervention.
Study Design:
Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.
Methods:
Included were active duty military servicemembers who underwent operative repair for PM tears caused by a parachute-induced mechanism. Charts were reviewed to identify characteristic, injury, and surgical variables. Patients completed the functional outcome assessment with the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) and the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) questionnaires. Outcomes were compared between patients treated within 6 weeks of injury and those treated beyond 6 weeks.
Results:
Of the 68 identified PM tears, 25 were the result of parachute-induced mechanisms. A total of 13 patients consented and completed the functional outcome assessment. The mean patient age was 30.6 ± 6.4 years, and the mean follow-up period was 5.46 ± 1.26 years. Ten patients underwent repair within 6 weeks of injury, and the remaining 3 patients underwent repair at a mean of 338 days after injury (95% CI, -42.8 to 718.8 days), a significant difference between groups (P = .006). All 13 patients were able to return to military duties at a mean of 6 months from injury. Patients treated within 6 weeks of injury had significantly higher functional outcomes (DASH score, 6.17 vs 26.67; P = .018; ASES score, 85.97 vs 49.5; P = .008), with greater strength performance compared with preinjury (bench press, 90.58% vs 38.95%; P = .0057; push-ups, 81.9% vs 23.8%; P = .023) compared with patients treated beyond 6 weeks of injury.
Conclusion:
Operative repair of parachute-induced PM tears within 6 weeks of injury provided a superior functional and strength recovery when compared with delayed surgical repair. Acute repair should be recommended for military servicemembers who experience this unique injury mechanism.
U.S. Army Parachute Mishap Fatalities: 2010-2015 Johnson, Erik S; Gaydos, Steven J; Pavelites, Joseph J ...
Aerospace medicine and human performance,
2019-Jul-01, Volume:
90, Issue:
7
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Despite the large number of U.S. military members who conduct parachuting operations, its inherent safety risks, and the introduction of a new military parachute in 2010, little has been published in ...the last decade on U.S. military parachute fatalities.
Parachute fatality investigative records maintained by the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center were reviewed for U.S. Army fatalities resulting from military parachuting operations from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2015. De-identified data on cases were collected, including causes, lethal injuries, and demographic, environmental, and missional factors. A descriptive analysis was performed.
There were 13 cases which met study inclusion criteria. Most occurred during static-line operations and were jumps from a C-17 aircraft using a T-11 parachute. The two most common assigned accident codes were "improper or abnormal exit" and "unstable or improper body position," which combined accounted for 33% of cases. Also noteworthy at 11% each were "entanglement," "parachute malfunction," and "dragged on the drop zone," and at 6% each were "static line injury," "lost or stolen air," and "drop zone hazard." In 69% of cases blunt force trauma was the cause of death.
Incident factors included human actions, equipment failure, and the environment. Death from blunt force trauma upon impact with the ground as the most frequent lethal injury was expected for parachute operations. This descriptive study provides awareness to military leaders of circumstances in which fatalities occur. Future investigations should include data on the total number of jumps to provide a more comprehensive analysis of risk.
Forward Surgical Teams (FSTs) are 20-person units designed to perform front-line, life-saving combat surgery. This study compares the employment, injuries encountered, and workload of an airborne FST ...in two widely varying campaigns.
The 250th FST provided far forward surgery for initial entry assaults and follow-on stability operations in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom OEF) and northern Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom OIF). Prospective data on all patients admitted to the 250th were analyzed. Data from civil affairs missions were evaluated retrospectively.
In supporting combat operations, 127 surgical procedures (OEF: 68, OIF: 59) were performed on 98 patients (OEF: 50, OIF: 48) during 17 months deployed (OEF: 6, OIF: 11). After initial assaults, stability actions varied significantly in terms of civil affairs missions (OEF: 3, OIF: 161).
Although the number and types of combat casualties were similar between the campaigns, employment of the FST changed dramatically in OIF because of increased medical reconstruction missions.
A RAND research team examined options to increase the mobility, protection, and firepower of Army airborne forces, given likely future missions and threats, and identified a concept for enhancing ...today’s forces by adding a light armored infantry capability. This report examines the numbers and types of vehicles that would be needed to create an airborne light armored force that could be airdropped or air-landed from Air Force transport planes.
Personnel Airdrop Simulation Fox, Scott M.; Bailey, T. Glenn; Carlton, William B.
Simulation,
01/2001, Volume:
76, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
We develop an object-oriented simulation that models the airdrop mission of a U.S. transport aircraft, the C-1 7 Globemaster III. The simulation, written in MODSIM III, is based on three basic object ...types: an aircraft, a wake vortex, and a paratrooper. The aircraft object provides the required aerodynamic constants for simulating the wake vortices generated off each wingtip; the vortex object includes velocity field and decay models as well as a position algorithm; and the paratrooper object implements a 6-degree-of-freedom trajectory model. Using the simulation, we generate vortex encounter information for various formations and wind conditions, and quantify the associated risk of paratrooper/vortex encounters in a potential en counter rate. Time over the drop zone is a primary concern in any airdrop operation, and the results of this analysis form a tool that allows the ground com mander to assess the risk involved in decreasing that time.
This conclusory chapter provides a brief overview of spaceborne remote sensing missions and airborne operations that are either cryosphere‐oriented or that have potential application to the ...cryosphere. A general description of such ongoing or planned missions is provided for the reader's convenience, reporting information on the sensors, techniques and applications of the different missions. In particular, the chapter discusses the following missions: soil moisture and ocean salinity satellite (SMOS), soil moisture active and passive (SMAP), cold regions hydrology high‐resolution observatory (CoReH20) satellite mission, ice,cloud, and land elevation satellite (ICESat) and ICESat‐2, operation icebridge and cryosat‐2.
PDF
