UK medical journal reports troops most vulnerable to back pain

An interesting study published in the UK journal, the Lancet, one of the world’s leading general medical journals, has found that “back, joint and muscle pain were the leading medical problems suffered by US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, accounting for almost one-quarter of all injuries.”

Of course, with the extremely heavy loads troops endure on their back for long periods of time and the wide-ranging, high-stress conditions they undergo that end up straining their back muscles, this news comes as no surprise. The analysis, carried out by researchers at the John Hopkins School of Medicine, has also revealed that of the injuries requiring soldiers to be withdrawn from the battlefield, only 14% percent were due to combat wounds. Sounds like proper training for lifting and carrying heavy weights, preventative measures and possible ergonomic military gear is in order…

via BBC