Heavy combat equipment causing acute orthopedic injuries to soldiers
February 1, 2009 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Injured in action is a term that we think of when troops are injured while fighting, but we also know that other injuries happen, such as car accidents and every day injuries that can happen anywhere.
Orthopedic injuries, particularly to the back and knees are turning out to be particularly troublesome for the U. S. army as the troops carry heavy combat equipment that protect their body from injury. The accumulated weight of the armor, including helmet, is up to 35 pounds. Once you add weapons, ammunition, water, food and communications gear, this range from 97 to 135 pounds. The recommended carrying weight is 50 pounds. And, it’s reported that soldiers in Afghanistan regularly carry 130 to 150 pounds for three-day missions,
For troops in high altitudes, such as the mountains of Afghanistan, the heavy weight of the equipment they wear, plus all they carry, can cause back and knee pain, making the "undeployable." After all, you can’t be an effective fighter if you’re battling a bad back or walking on bum knees.
The Washington Post had a very interesting story on this issue and includes information from soldiers who have been affected by this. It’s definitely worth taking the time to read: Weight of Combat Gear Is Taking Toll
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Tags: pain blog, back pain, knee pain, orthopedic injuries to soldiers, heavy combat equipment
What’s even worse is that a lot of soldiers that have these problems are treated as malingerers and their injuries are often misdiagnosed and go untreated because they get tired of being treated like garbage at aid stations and clinics. They get thrown a bottle of anti-inflammatory drugs and pushed away. Why are they treated this way? Because for every legitimately injured soldier, there is two of them trying to fake an injury to either A) get out of work, or B) want that non-deployable status so they don’t have to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Nice, huh?
You make a really good point Scott. It’s not a soldier-only problem too. Many nurses have injured backs but because there are also the fakers, the nurses have a very difficult time convincing the powers-that-be that their back is painful.
But that with soldiers, that’s even worse – in my opinion. How can someone with a legitimate back injury (or knee, etc) be at his or her best when shots are being fired or lives are in danger?
With the way HMO is run, that often seems to be the case with regular patients. More often than not, the doctor will just tell you take some kind of ibuprofen.