Estudio sobre la incidencia y repercusiones de la práctica del paracaidismo

Resumen

ABSTRACT Introduction. Skydiving is a very demanding and dangerous activity that has been under research for several decades to increase safety and minimize the risk it involves. There are different risk factors such as age, weight, experience or grounding, related to the occurrence of injuries. Sprains and fractures are the main acute injuries to the lower limbs. The pains in the lumbar spine are the most prevalent chronic episodes. The wind tunnel is a recent element for parachutist training, for which there is little research on their physical repercussions. Objetives. Establish the frequency and characteristics of the injuries and repercussions associated to military parachuting. In addition, identify the risk factors related to various military activities, such as tactical and sporting jump, and the educational activities in the wind tunnel. Methodology. The display was formed by 71 servicemen from the Alcantarilla Air Base, divided into 3 groups: INSTRUCTORS (19), PAPEA (Acrobatic Patrol of the Air Force Parachutists) (16) and SAPPERS (36). A questionnaire was administered to each as an interview. The information was classified into personal and military history, acute and chronic injuries, and job positions. Results. At an acute level, the INSTRUCTORS have injured their knees more and the PAPEA and the SAPPERS the ankles. The spinal column has registered more chronic episodes of injury. The contusions are the type of acute injury that the INSTRUCTORS have suffered the most, and the sprains and fractures have been suffered by the SAPPERS and the PAPEA. Non-specific pain and muscular problems are the most predominant types of chronic injuries. 81.7% of the subjects expressed that the noise is excessive. Regarding the temperatures, 85.9% think that they are not ideal. 84.2% and 63.15% of the INSTRUCTORS note that there are external distracting elements and would change the infrastructure of the tunnel. Conclusions. The PAPEA considers that the relative and precision jumps are harmful at the time of grounding. The weight carried by the SAPPERS at the time of making tactical jumps, is something they are all concerned about, especially when landing. The PAPEA shows fewer but more serious injuries. The INSTRUCTORS have the highest ratio injuries/parachutist, with the predominance of bruises and spinal pain. The SAPPERS present a high injury/number of jumps ratio, due to the excess weight they carry. The grounding, the positions held during the flight, the movements in the tunnel, the temperature and the noise are the factors that are the most strongly associated with the occurrence of injuries.