LOAD CARRIAGE INJURIES IN CHINESE MILITARY SOLDIERS: AN INVESTIGATORY REVIEW

Orr R1, Wang D21Bond University, Tactical Research Unit, Physiotherapy Department, Gold Coast, Australia, 2National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, ChinaBackground: Aggregated research findings suggest that many injuries experienced by soldiers can be attributed to the occupational loads they are required to carry.Purpose: To investigate research reporting on load carriage injuries in soldiers from the Chinese Army.Methods: A literature search of multiple databases, conducted in both English and Chinese, was used to identify all studies that met the inclusion criteria for this review. A multi-stage search strategy was utilized to increase search accuracy.Results: A total of 1613 records (English n=1538, Chinese n=75) were extracted from the databases. Following initial screening, 127 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. While eight (n=8) English research papers reported on load carriage injuries, no research investigating load carriage injuries was identified in either the Chinese literature databases or in the Chinese Army as a population.Conclusion(s): Research in western armies and the Chinese Army strongly suggest similarities in biomechanical impacts of load carriage on soldiers and patterns of military injuries. However, studies are needed investigating load carriage injuries in Chinese soldiers. Furthermore, this research demonstrates the potential for language bias in reviews employing single language databases.Implications: Chinese soldiers may suffer similar load carriage injuries to soldiers of Western armies. Injury prevention, rehabilitation and return-to-work practices of Western armies may be of value when treating load carriage induced injuries in Chinese soldiers.Keywords: Occupational injuries, Rehabilitation, Return to workFunding acknowledgements: NILTopic: Occupational health & ergonomics; Musculoskeletal; Musculoskeletal: lower limbEthics approval required: NoInstitution: Bond UniversityEthics committee: Bond University Human Research Ethics CommiteeReason not required: A review of available literatureAll authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.