Does Military High-speed Boat Slamming Cause Severe Injuries and Disability?

Abstract

Background Many operators of professional high-speed boats suffer severe, acute, and permanent injuries caused by slamming-induced hull impacts. As the number of professional high-speed boats and their speed capabilities increase, operators are reporting increasing numbers and severity of injuries. However, the actual incidence rate of acute injuries and the prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal disorders are still unknown. Questions/purposes We sought to investigate, among professional high-speed boat operators, (1) the selfreported incidence rate of impact-induced injuries, (2) the most common types of injuries or injury locations, (3) what impact characteristics were reported, and (4) the prevalence of self-reported sick leave, disability, and medical or orthopaedic treatment. Methods This study was an internet-based survey among retired military high-speed boat operators. The survey was given to members of the Combatant Craft Crewman Association online user group (360 members). Participants answered questions on demographics, service branch, service years and capacity, boat type, types of events, injury location, severity, pain, disability, and need for treatment. Values are presented as the mean 6 SD and proportions. Incidence rates are presented as injuries per person-year. A total of 214 Members of one of the author's (JU) family has ownership of Ullman Dynamics, which develops and produces marine suspension seats. JU has no ownership and has not received any payments from Ullman Dynamics. This author certifies no receipt of personal payments or benefits from Ullman Dynamics. One of the authors (RC) is the president of Train Maintain Sustain Group, which provides high-speed boat operations training and expertise in high-speed boat design and performance. This author certifies no receipt of personal payments or benefits, during the study period. RC/TMS Group later commenced consultancy work for Ullman Dynamics in the United States. This author certifies current receipt of payments or benefits of USD 10,000 to USD 100,000 from Ullman Dynamics. All ICMJE Conflict of Interest Forms for authors and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research® editors and board members are on file with the publication and can be viewed on request. Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (number 2022-00603-01).

Systematic Review of Injuries and Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Among High-speed Boat Operators

“…The higher rate of chronic pain and pain medication reported by Ullman et al. 18 may be because of their older study population compared to the cohorts studied by de Alwis et al. 16 and Hurpin et al.…”

“…The anecdotal reports and retrospective survey data indicate that there appears to be a chronic injury issue post-service career but do not identify what specific characteristics of exposures are injurious. 3 , 8 This limitation drives the need for regular measurement of routine transit accelerations with accompanying during and post-transit monitoring of pain and soreness.…”

“…6 , 7 A recent survey of 214 retired U.S. Military high-speed boat operators revealed an incidence of 1.1 injuries per person-year onboard, which was 50 times higher than the incidence of onboard injuries in the civilian employee population. 8 Therefore, there have been calls for changes in safety regulations in view of the tactical advantages of rapid transit in naval and amphibious operations, irrespective of weather and sea conditions.…”

Safety Improvements for High-Speed Planing Craft Occupants: A Systematic Review

“…Therefore, current information is not enough to provide a general view of how much other directions of vibration could affect human safety. However, Ullman et al's [6] survey indicated that most of the human injuries occurred during the impact shock, which contained fore-and-aft and lateral accelerations.…”

“…According to Figure 1, before 1992, safety on board HSPCs was not given as much attention, while the number of publications indicates an upward trend with time. Considering various reports of health risks on board these vessels [4][5][6], this upward trend demonstrates the increasing importance of the safety improvements of HSPCs.…”